Webwork
by Trackula
Summary: Balance does not discriminate. The failure of successive dark champions present and future has created an imbalance in favor of the light. Thanks to the meddling of a fallen foe, Jade Chan will pay the price for another's tampering with destiny. Though heroes will rise yet again to face darkness, Jade has a stake in this conflict such as no dark foe before her. Post Season 5
1. Soul of Darkness

**Webwork**

**By **_**Trackula**_** and Co-written by **_**Eduard Kassel**_

C01 - Soul of Darkness

"Another one bites the dust," Tarakudo muttered. He couldn't see whatever nonsense was going down on the Mortal plane, but anyone with an ounce of Chi to their name could feel the sheer explosion of energy swelling outwards, and then silence. Deep silence. Even if he concentrated, the King of all Oni could hardly sense even the barest flicker of Dark Chi left in the void. Just tiny pinpricks here and there, on a world flooding more and more with awful Light.

'Who could it have been,' he wondered idly, 'the dragons?'

Only they could have caused such sheer mayhem in such a short time and then burned out just as fast. It was the curse of their race, following every destructive whim until all that was left is ash. He could practically smell their particular stink of Dark Chi, even from here.

His eyes narrowed in thought; there was always possibility to be found in the fall of another. An enemy in this case. He would shed no tears for the fall of Dragons.

He expected it would be centuries, millennia even, for him to find his next opportunity to break free from this awful sealed state. But these were interesting times, events were speeding up. Even IT couldn't ignore such an imbalance in the world. With IT's aid, perhaps… now just to get an audience.

Turning his attention towards the silent void surrounding him, he shut his eyes and concentrated. His message was broadcast on all sides, riding the waves of Dark Chi he radiated.

"I have a solution," the message said. "We need to talk."

Time moved strangely here. The moment between events was blurred and twisted. Tarakudo couldn't be sure if it was seconds or hours later, but suddenly he felt an icy claw grip his essence, tight and unyielding, demanding attention. Focus. Even prepared as he was for this audience, he could not help but shudder in barely suppressed terror before such awful majesty. He only half-believed IT would even heed his message. No one in his long history, himself included had ever been able to contact IT directly. IT lived in the ebb and flow of causality itself, if "live" was the simplified word you could apply to an existence like this.

But here IT was now, great and terrible and focused on Tarakudo, perhaps for the first time in his comparatively short existence. It made the Oni King feel very small. A gnat in the palm of a giant.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity," he started. Manners seemed the best course of action here.

Although apparently it was the wrong choice, as he was suddenly overwhelmed by a literal wave of impatience, nearly sending him spiraling deeper into the void than he already was. No pleasantries then, best to just dive right in.

"The girl, Jade Chan. She is the last unsealed force of Dark Chi in the world. I can feel it even now, a pearl of my own Chi resting quietly, wrapped tightly in her spirit. Buried away ever since my mark was torn from her."

This was apparently what it wanted to hear. The power keeping him at attention almost seemed to purr. Perfect, a better response than he dared hope.

"You safeguard the Balance of Darkness, you can rewrite events, push that darkness to its breaking point. All you need to do is release that Dark Chi, and I promise I can do the rest. The balance will be restored."

The chill became ice, IT's equivalent of narrowed eyes as he felt himself being regarded, considered. If found wanting, he would never have this opportunity ever again. He would be stuck here in this pit until someone put on his accursed mask, and who knew how long THAT would be?

After an untold time, the chill abated slightly. Tarakudo decided to optimistically consider that a smirk.

"So, do we have a deal?"

Tarakudo felt the attention a moment longer, and then suddenly it was gone. Vanished like a doused flame leaving hardly a memory. For a moment, he feared IT had ignored his offer, finding the scheme beneath its designs and leaving him to float helpless in this nameless sealed realm.

But before his fears had time to properly take hold, a window appeared right in front of him. A scene of a young Chinese girl, reclining with obvious boredom at her desk, a pencil perched on her bottom lip as she stared out the window. IT was letting him see into the outside, to know when it was time for him to make his move. A cruel fanged smirk spread across the Oni King's face.

Regarding young Jade, he almost felt bad for her, only great pain and rage would rouse her darkness at this point. But he dismissed such feelings, miracles always require a sacrifice. In time, she might even thank him.

XXX

Drew stumbled up the line of desks, grumbling bitterly. Saying decidedly not-appropriate words for his young thirteen-year-old mouth. Too low for Ms. Hartman to hear, of course. Dragging his soaked backback behind him. His shaved head for once not displaying his beloved yellow hat.

He slumped back into his desk, finally, running his fingers across his bare scalp and cursing its nakedness. A crow had literally snatched it off his head on the way to school. A crow of all things! Which had been before the car had splashed him from driving over an inexplicable puddle, and before his mom yelled at him for not waking up on time since his alarm had inexplicably not gone off, again.

To say he'd been having a ridiculously bad week was the grossest possible understatement. He had given up on analogies to describe it out of bitter resignation. Literally every day this week, every possible thing that could go wrong did. His alarm not waking him, his parents riding him for chores that weren't even his responsibility, he inexplicably forgot to bring homework he actually DID, even got a black eye from walking into a chair while searching the floor for his missing glasses.

Frankly, it'd be easier to list the things that went right; nothing.

He grumbled, trying not to think of his hat when rummaging through his wet backpack for his school work. Hartman would be asking for it soon, and he was already in her crosshairs from having to excuse his lack of homework twice already. Third time, and she'd probably call his parents. He did not what to deal with THAT on top of anything. They were already cross with him over his constant lateness.

Anymore trouble and he could sense grounding in his immediate future.

After a while of shifting through his bag, he froze, and then began rummaging faster, desperation building up. Finally, he took the bag and upended it on his desk, rifling through the exposed contents thereon.

Finally, the grim reality set it. Gone. He had forgotten his homework AGAIN. He knew he had put it away, did it TWICE just to be sure. But it wasn't here now. Did he break a mirror, step under a ladder, cross a black cat?! What had he done to somehow deserve THIS?!

Desperately, Drew looked over at Jade sitting across from him. The Chinese transplant was gazing sullenly out the window, her eyes half-lidded, and a distasteful frown tugging at her lips. She'd been in a really piss-poor mood for several days now, herself. Ignoring most of Drew's half-hearted barbs, sitting away from the others at lunch, hardly participating in class. Even Hartman had noticed this with visible concern.

XXX

"Nothing," Jade muttered for the thousandth time as she started out at the unchanging scenery beyond her classroom window. Willing it to be filled with lost talismans, magical beasts, demons, shadows given swords, magic…

Over three months ago, she'd stood at the center of a massive battle, watching two beings of unbelievable power battling for the very fate of the planet, every soul on earth at stake. An ancient immortal Demon Dragon powered by the Chinese Zodiac itself, and his son radiating with the dark power of every Demon Sorcerer she had personally had a hand in sealing away in the first place.

Her, originally just some lonely nobody from downtown Hong Kong, suddenly a key player in the impending Apocalypse. When the dust had settled, Captain Black even told her she had a future with Section 13. She knew this would be the case EVENTUALLY by virtue of meeting herself from the future, but who knew it would be so soon?

But then the dream ended.

In the months to follow, there were no missions, or races against the clock. No ancient evils of unspeakable horror crawling and clawing at the veil of reality. She had to thank Lovecraft for expanding her vocabulary regarding what used to be such everyday occurrences in her life.

Not even any treasure hunters or mercenaries, career criminals and evil organizations! Three months of nothing but preparing mung bean and garlic sandwiches for Uncle, of sweeping the shop with Tohru, or of watching Uncle Jackie write papers on ancient textiles. Of homework, and dry school days, and having no friends but a four hundred and ninety pound ex-criminal-turned-Chi Wizard.

One more friend than she'd ever had before, at the very least. At least that hadn't changed, she thanked her lucky stars.

There had been the possibility of Jimmy, for a time. But apparently bringing a boy to the future to help you defeat himself had the unfortunate side-effect of making any future relationship awkward. Who knew? Jimmy was even more sullen now than he'd ever been. Apparently finding out you grew up to become a megalomaniacal Chi Wizard thief was a lot to digest.

The icing on the cake had been when Jade was loitering around the mall last night and saw Chow working at the Sunglasses Emporium, looking as happy as she'd ever seen him. He'd even waved at her. The same thug who had betrayed her and Jackie, and once had nearly had her killed by a legion of shadow ninja.

Who knew where the other Enforcers even were? Probably doing something equally domestic. Perhaps not Hak Foo given his violent nature, but who could say at this point?

It was as if she was back in Hong Kong, skipping classes and trying to do anything to spice up her day-to-day. Her first day in America had been her every dream come true. Magic, monsters, intrigue, and Jackie, the most kick-ass relative on the planet!

She grumbled, and buried her head on her desk. Jackie was so busy with his work these days, the boring kind, that he couldn't even teach her new moves. His telling her he would get to it kept getting pushed further and further away and her already minimal patience was at its limit.

Uncle was even worse, taking her angst for slothfulness and giving her extra chores and assignments to fill her time. Of course, also refusing to teach her a single Chi Spell, and forbidding Tohru from doing the same.

That, on top of everything else, amounted to nothing. It was worse than ever before because now she knew what life could be like and she feared it might not be like that again. This saga in her life began with the Twelve Talismans, but now those were gone, sealed away in some Hell Dimension inside the dragon who stole them in the first place.

To Jade, this felt too much like the credits rolling after the lights came back on in the theater. The magic was gone.

"Jade! Jade!" she heard hissed from her right, interrupting her dour thoughts.

She turned towards the source, and wrinkled her nose when she matched eyes with it; Drew.

"Urgh," she groaned. The jerk wasn't wearing his awful yellow cap for once, making his head look weirdly big and round. If she weren't in such a foul mood, the image would have made her smirk.

"What do YOU want, Drew." She muttered, flopping her head down on its side, regarding her schoolyard antagonist with narrowed brown eyes.

Drew apparently chose to ignore the warning mood surrounding the Chinese girl, and pressed on in a rush. "Hey, lemme copy your homework."

Jade blinked at the audacious statement. Drew didn't like her, made that clear from the first day she started school here. Called her a liar on a number of occasions, and mocked her accounts of her adventures. As a result, she made it quite clear she didn't like Drew either. He was a little creep who loved cutting other people down for yucks. But now, here he was, not even asking to profit from her efforts. He was TELLING her to. Well she had one word to say to THAT nonsense.

"No."

"What?" Drew squawked his eyes widening, "Aw, c'mon, Jade I need this! This is a really big deal!"

She sat back up, and crossed her arms over her chest, her right eyebrow raised. "Wow, big deal, huh? Big deal like; China might be destroyed by dragons? Evil wizard is gonna harness the Zodiac? Oni are gonna spread eternal darkness over the planet? These are what I consider big deals."

She leaned forward, "So forgive me if I don't see how you ripping off MY homework counts as a 'Big Deal', Drew. Get some perspective."

Drew's eyes narrowed, spitting his next words out through gritted teeth, "Well, this is a 'Big Deal' to ME!"

Jade rolled her eyes which only elevated Drew's anger, "Maybe. MAYBE if you'd actually said 'please', I'd have let you copy my work. But you didn't, you had to be all… 'Drew' about it, so you're out of luck."

Punctuating her point, she leaned back, resuming her vigil out the window. "I got more important things to worry about that you trying to copy my homework, when you should have just done it yourself, Genius."

Incensed, Drew opened his mouth to tell her exactly what he thought of her 'more important things', but a sudden voice made his heart skip.

"What's this I hear about you copying homework, Mr. Jacoby?" Ms. Hartman asked, her face neutral and focused.

XXX

Two weeks, that's how long his parents decided to give him the full grounding treatment.

Drew was used to it for the most part. He was a bit of a troublemaker, admittedly. Nothing wrong with causing a hassle from time to time, and getting people all riled up was fun. But he did it knowing this was a possibility, and reluctantly accepted the outcome when it caught up with him. That wasn't why he was so mad though, why he raged deep inside like a spark burning though the walls of his stomach.

This time, it wasn't even his fault! He was literally innocent, had DONE his stupid homework, but somehow beyond his ability to comprehend, the stupid papers escaped his backpack. What deity had he pissed off to deserve this sort of karmic backlash? That was why he was so mad, but the sheer rage on top of it was another matter entirely.

Jade. Freaking. Chan.

That awful SMIRK she thought she was hiding while facing away towards the window like he couldn't see it! She thought she was so special, always bragging and trying to hog the spotlight. Uncle Jackie this, and Uncle Jackie that, over and over like a broken record. It was bad enough when Drew was sure she was a habitual liar looking for attention. Back then it was just funny in a pathetic sort of way. Lots of material there to screw with the new weirdo.

But then it turned out it was all TRUE, there WAS magic in the world, and ninja, and evil organizations, and that brat was somehow at the center of it. She basically LIVED every videogame Drew owned! It drove him crazy, suddenly all his potshots at her rang hollow on his ears. How do you really cut down someone who literally dealt with gods and demons every other week?

But he needed to cut her down. That smirk, that attitude, on top of this week of absolute misery. He couldn't get back at his own bad luck, but he could get back at HER for sure. That would be even better, finally give that girl the 'perspective' she mentioned before. She was no different from every other kid in school, nothing special. In the right place and the right time, maybe, but that was all. He'd show her and everyone else how, at the end of the day, she was just another stupid kid riding her uncle's coattails.

He already knew how, an idea he'd gotten from his dad commenting on some trashy magazine article. It was surprisingly easy to bring someone haughty down, apparently. Almost too easy, it was mindboggling. He fingered his cellphone, eyes narrowing.

XXX

Ancient eyes focused on the unfolding events beyond his window into the world. It was overwhelming, the scope and complexity of the work. Best of all, he was privileged to be allowed front row seats to such a show.

Lord Tarakudo had seen curses and hexs designed to alter and shape events before. They were detailed and dangerous spells, anything could go wrong and more often than not, did. Usually they were designed to lead the focus to some degree of ruin. He avoided that magic outright, himself. The risk was always far too high, and the karmic backlash from such enchantments, even successfully accomplished, was simply not worth the effort.

But this was on a whole different level entirely.

There were no clumsy forced obstacles designed to divert and redirect a person's actions. This was a complex webwork of causal events, small and seemingly insignificant. By themselves they would have meant nothing, but the way one event seamlessly lead into the next was almost beautiful in Tarakudo's eyes. Beautiful and terrible. Watching the young man's thoughts perfectly sculpted to serve IT's designs with no apparent margin for error.

Not just this "Drew" but little Jade as well. Two lives simultaneously being played with from the Darkness. This was the battlefield IT and its Light counterpart apparently fought in since the very nascent of reality. A being such as he could never compete on their scale.

He watched Drew clumsily sneak into the Chan shop, full of cheap antiquity and he remembered, smelling overpoweringly of garlic. Uncle was facing away from the stairs, dusting some vase just as Drew tiptoed past. One more subtle manipulation among many. Anyone who could have placed the boy in this location had been looking away or distracted throughout the entire journey. The soft touch of IT, ensuring success.

It frightened Tarakudo that even with his well trained eyes, he could just barely perceive the light touch of IT's direct intervention. Worst of all, he knew there was much he couldn't see, that he was missing. Even with eyes trained by centuries of sorcery and magical combat.

He shook away such ponderings as he observed the play and the performers therein. The progression of these thoughts had led lesser men to madness.

Free will may have been an illusion but it was a comforting one, and he was sticking to it.

XXX

"Jaaade! Do not use all the hot water! Uncle is tired of freeeeezing in the shower! Uncle is not fish to be put on ice!"

"I already told you! Tohru is the one who hogs the hot water!" she shouted back down in annoyance as she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

'_He's the size of a bull elephant, of course he hogs the water…_' she mused, turning on the hot water, and disrobing. The events of school replaying in her thoughts.

Drew being so insufferable was nothing unexpected; it seemed that the stars needed to be aligned for her to go a school day without having to deal with his crap.

Though admittedly he'd seemed rather off this whole week. Disheveled and twitchy, she caught him tripping or getting his cafeteria food knocked onto his clothes several times in the last few days. Which was… admittedly somewhat odd and could account for his behavior that morning.

But that didn't excuse him imposing himself on her like that, especially when she herself had been having a hell of a time adjusting to bitter civilian life. She hadn't even been to Section 13 in weeks. Black was renovating certain areas after the recent chaos, and had no work that Jackie could really lend his talents to.

Magical or artifact-focused missions were the exception to such an organization, not the norm, Jade had to remind herself. Before she'd come to the States, Black hadn't even believed in such things.

She let out a sigh and felt the stream. Satisfied with the heat, she stepped into the water and reached for the shampoo. She paused, enjoying the warmth running over her, alleviating her tension ever so slightly.

But, she admitted to herself, perhaps she'd stepped out too far as well where Drew was concerned. Yeah he was a jerk and liked pissing her off for some reason she could never figure out. But she'd been pretty needlessly callous in return, holding her achievements over his head like that and making light of his own troubles.

If she had to do it over again, well, she still wouldn't have given her homework over. He didn't say please. Even if she'd been in a good mood, that'd have put her off regardless. But she wouldn't have rubbed salt in like she did. It didn't make anything any better. In the long run, it probably just made things WORSE.

She'd seen the hurt look on his face in the glass' reflection when she smirked at Hartman catching him in the act. It killed any feeling of triumph she may have felt at the time. She just wasn't a girl wired for sadism.

Steadily lathering her hair, she resolved that whatever happens, she'd apologize to Drew the first time she saw him tomorrow.

XXX

Jade stepped through the halls of the school, pulling her backpack tighter to her back by the straps, her eyes traveling from face to face in the hallway. A strange cold sensation running down her back since the moment she had entered the school that morning.

Apparently in the time between yesterday and today she had gotten really popular. Her light brown eyes scanned the crowd in the hall, all attention squarely on her small form. It was starting to make her more than a little uncomfortable.

She saw Simone walking her way but the moment she looked up and saw Jade waving towards her, her face turned a dark red and she quickly turned and ran the other way, hiding her blush with her hands. Jade, now passing from uncomfortable all the way to upset, called after her to no avail. It only seemed to spur the Iranian girl faster in the opposite direction until she disappeared around the corner.

Jimmy was no better, he saw her as he was stepping out of the men's room, looking troubled as he gnawed at his lower lip. But when she'd said hi, he'd apparently gotten shocked enough that he'd bit down hard enough to split said lip open, and he rushed back into where Jade dared not follow before she could get so much as a word in edgewise.

Now genuinely beginning to feel some degree of fear, Jade ran to the lady's room and began looking herself over from every angle in one of the mirrors. Raising her bangs to get a clear look at her face, checking her clothes all over, anything she could think of. Even using a small compact mirror she kept on her person in case of laser grids or some such in order to properly inspect the back of her head.

Nothing.

No matter where she looked, she seemed her normal boring self. Hair she couldn't keep from spiking up, big brown eyes, embarrassingly pouty lips, everything was where she it should be. At least in her perception… Now that the mirror had confirmed everything was okay, perhaps some glamour had been cast on her. Made people see her with horns or scales, or creepy melting horror-movie eyes.

"How do I even test that…" she muttered. Then crouched down and began checking underneath all the stalls.

She noticed a pair of scuffed running shoes crouched in the far corner of the furthest stall, angled in such a way that whoever it was couldn't have been on the toilet.

Jade easily hoped up, and hauled her little body halfway over the stall door, and looked down at the girl who was clearly avoiding her. The maneuver elicited a panicked squeak from the girl in question. She had frizzy red hair, and thick cokebottle glasses. Jade didn't recognize her, but the girl clearly recognized Jade from the way her freckled face suddenly went even redder.

"Hey, do I look normal to you?" Jade asked impatiently, well past the point of caring about pleasantries.

"W-what?!" the girl stuttered.

Jade hauled herself over the side and landed lightly in front of her. Arms crossed, and eyes narrowed.

"Do. I. Look. Normal?" she repeated, enunciating every word. "No third eye, horns, scales, froggy bits, ANYHTHING?"

"N-n-n-no…" the girl answered, hardly above a whisper, eyes downcast to the cheap tiles.

Gritting her teeth, Jade leaned forward and asked, "Then why are you and everyone else treating me like I caught smallpox?"

"Becau- well- I mean- IGOTTAGONOWSORRY," the girl rushed, shoving past Jade and running out the door. Jade could hear classmates on the other side shouting in annoyance about being knocked over.

"It's not magic then, maybe." Jade frowned, at a loss towards what could possibly have caused her disturbing attention. Jade wasn't a shy girl, not by a long shot, but this was something else. There was something very wrong and she was the focus of it.

With uncharacteristic apprehension, she placed her hand on the lady's room door and made her way back out into the hallway, prepared to see all eyes focused on her again.

What she didn't expect though was to suddenly find Drew on the other side. His hands in his pockets, smirking at her as she stepped away from the door. With everything that had happened that morning, she had nearly forgotten she had resolved to apologize to him for yesterday's argument.

She wasn't nearly in the state of mind to have that conversation, but she'd made a promise with herself and didn't intend to break it. Even if he did look weirdly smug today, oddly enough. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat to say her piece, but Drew cut her off.

"Were in there for awhile, Jade. Hope you didn't hog the hot water again."

Jade opened her mouth to retort, but then stopped and frowned. His strange jab echoing in her mind. "W-what? What did you just say?"

Drew shrugged coyly and started walking away. "Nuthin'. Have a nice day, Ninja-girl."

Still thrown by his unusual barb, Jade's apology died on her lips and she leaned against the nearest locker. She tried her hardest to place those words, feeling the answer just on the edge of her consciousness. But then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

Ms. Hartman was marching towards her, some sort of document on top of a binder held under her right arm. Her lips were pulled into a tight frown and her eyes zeroed in on Jade with clear purpose.

Jade looked up at her nervously, Hartman was a strict teacher on the best of days, but she didn't look this serious even when she was turned into a gargoyle from absorbing Hsi Wu's Chi. She swallowed and put her hands in her pockets, expecting to be chastised for something or other.

Instead, Hartman leaned down and put her hand on Jade's shoulder to look her in the eye. "Jade, did you know about this?"

Ms. Hartman looked over to several printed slips of paper face down on the binder under her arm.

Jade looked at the papers, remembering some of the laughing kids from earlier holding folded up sheets of paper. But this was school; she hadn't given it much thought. Now though…

"What is that?" she asked, eyes narrowing accusingly at the sheets.

Hartman's lips pressed into a tight line and she stood up, Jade catching a look in her eyes she couldn't immediately recognize, making her whole body tense on edge. It looked sort of like compassion, or more accurately, pity.

"They're nothing, Jade, don't worry," she said softly, beginning to walk away and gesturing for her to follow. "But, I need you to come with me to the office. We need to discuss-"

Her words were suddenly cut off when Jade moved with agility well beyond normal for a girl her age, easily twisting to Ms. Hartman's guarded side and snatching the pages from beside her binder. She ignored her teacher's calls as she turned them face up.

Time stood still.

They were printed out jpeg images. Each page displaying the same photo clearly. It was the Chan residence upstairs bathroom. And in it, Jade stepping out of the shower. Completely naked and uncovered. Everything clearly visible in detail.

The sensation in her fingers went numb, losing all strength as the pages slipped through her dead fingers to the linoleum floor. She realized she had forgotten to breathe, and could vaguely hear words in the periphery of her senses, feel Hartman's hand on her shoulder.

"Hope you didn't hog the hot water again." Repeated in her mind.

Then the world blurred, lockers flying past her a frightful speed, the sensation of her nails digging red divots into the flesh of her palm, and Drew's retreating back becoming closer and closer. Until he turned towards the sound rapidly approaching him.

As he turned, a small fist collided with his right cheek, the skin folding around the knuckles in slow motion before his body rocketed backwards, slamming hard into the far locker, bouncing off and hitting the floor in a daze.

Jade rushed forward, intent on repeating the action until the boy before her was gone from her sight. Gone from her life forever. Sweat poured down her brow and soaked the back of her neck, her pulse beating stronger and stronger making her temples throb, her jaw awfully sore as her molars crushed against one another.

Before she could continue, a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her backwards, separating her from Drew who dizzily tried to stand, blood trickling down the corner of his swelling cheek.

"Jade, stop this immediately, you need to stop!" implored, holding her as tightly as she could as Jade thrashed in her arms, trying to reach the boy still on the ground.

Jade's stomach turned, bile reaching up into her throat as the world seemed to twist in her eyes, shifting like wet paint. The pulsing in her became unbearable, a gross rapid swelling and contracting deep inside her. Like an egg about to burst.

"HE DID IT!" she shrieked, fighting the growing sickness, "WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!"

"She's CRAZY," Drew shouted back, his voice clumsy around his bloated cheek, "Just look at her! I didn't do nothin' to her!"

The pulsing was beginning to reach its crescendo, building beyond what she felt she could contain, the noise and sensation, sickly and wrong, blocking out all else. Hartman, worrying the poor girl was beginning to have some sort of fit, relaxed her grip.

Shutting out the world around her, Jade stumbled out of Hartman's arms, falling to her knees. Her hands were clutching her chest, wheezing for breath that wouldn't come.

"It'll be alright Jade," Hartman tried to insist, kneeling beside her, her face pale as death as she looked at her young student's state. "It'll be-"

Then the pulsing within her burst.

It came as a wave, a swelling sphere of force spreading out from the young girl, originating from her center. A boom droned out, sucking the air from the space around them and exploding outwards, the heavy bass nearly blowing out their eardrums.

The blast caught Drew and Ms. Hartman full in the chest, raising them off their feet and into the lockers on either side of the hallway, the wind and force stinging their faces and filling their ears with rough whistling. All the lockers around them deformed inwardly from the impact of the blast with a hollow metallic crunch. The sheer force caused the crumpled steel to continue shaking and vibrating against one another filling the room with an ongoing metal twang.

The linoleum burned and blackened, sizzling steadily beneath Jade's feet, filling the air with a noxious smell of melting plastic. The fluorescent lights above them hissed and exploded within the ceiling one after another, until the hall was covered in shadow only broken by the nearby windows shattered open from the blast.

Ms. Hartman could hardly breathe. The shock to her torso and back having taken all the wind out of her. The back of her head, just above her bun felt warm and wet, a feeling traveling down the back of her neck and down her blouse. Her face and hands were tender and sore as if singed worse than any sunburn she could remember. But her self-assessment was distracted by heavy breathing and choking in front of her.

While toxic fumes from the melted floor and crackling paint was making it hard to think, Ms. Hartman forced herself to look up and see the dark heart of this chaos that swallowed her into its world.

In the middle of this maelstrom, Jade clutched her ears as a growing shriek seemed to fill her consciousness oblivious to all the noise and smells besides, nothing mattered but blocking that awful shrieking. But it was to no avail. She wasn't able to stop a noise originating inside her own mind.

She could feel a coldness spreading deep inside, with her heart as the focal point and reaching outwards. It felt like something made of ice eating her away cell by cell and leaving something new and alien in their place. Everything that was her being twisted and absorbed by this force clawing frantically towards the surface. She could feel her thoughts becoming lost to a void of darkness and pain until she couldn't even remember her name.

From the outside, fighting to maintain her consciousness, Ms. Hartman could see something like blue dye beginning to spread up Jade's face and down to her fingertips, crackling like frost over glass. Jade's pink skin was being consumed by this blue and being replaced by something unnaturally smooth and poreless. Her nails darkened along with it until they were a glass-like and dark purple, nearly black.

She cried out and choked wetly on every shuddered breath, Jade's breathing becoming more rapid and frantic as the changes took hold. The noise from deep in her throat sounded sickly and torn. As with the invading blue, every noise from her throat seemed to become more blurred and distorted, as if in stereo. Two similar voices gagging and choking in disturbed unison from a single throat.

She could see the teeth in Jade's mouth following suit, lengthening and sharpening unnaturally into a zipper-like uniformity of triangular knives.

Her student's eyes began to look sickeningly bloodshot to Ms. Hartman. But then she saw the inflamed veins seemed to thicken and spread like gnarled branches. Attacking her light brown irises from all sides, crawling past the color in a path of conquest all the way to Jade's pupils. The blood branched and consumed until solid red spheres were all that was left. With a strange pulsing thrum, the red eyes filled from within with an unnatural inner light, two bloody beacons filling the shadowy hall.

Finally, as a crown to this grim alteration, Jade's hair seemed to rise up and spike even more than was normal for the wild-headed girl, becoming fierce and jagged purple-black locks casting shadows on her luminescent new eyes.

When all was finished, Jade collapsed hard to her knees, wheezing and coughing. A strange silence filled the space around them in conflict with the previous activity. Solid red eyes looked over at Drew, completely forgotten at her front. He looked dead to the world, hurt and dazed by the impact. Turning, Jade's new eyes met her teacher's for the first time in what felt like an eternity.

Ms. Hartman tried to speak, say anything at all. But the sheer shock of the spectacle and pain of having taken the blast from such close proximity made any words seem to stop dead in her throat.

Also, there was something else. As horrific as this event was, something about it was so upsettingly familiar. Memories of wings, and talons, poorly repressed as some fevered delusion coming to the forefront of her mind.

Jade's expression was unreadable, blank and confused like a newborn. She looked down at her hands like she'd never seen them before. Her fingers curling to feel the skin of her palms, before standing shakily back up. Her eyebrows knitted together.

She looked over and noticed Ms. Hartman's hand attempting to lift up as she summoned the strength to reach her. Jade paused and then seemed to be fighting a similar urge to reach back. But both were suddenly distracted by multiple heavy footfalls rushing to their location.

Jade glared wrathful daggers at the approaching faculty, and launched herself through one of the shattered nearby windows with inhuman strength and speed. Once through she ran. Her footfalls were completely silent and disappeared from Ms. Hartman's awareness in an instant.

And with that, Jade was gone.

XXX

"Helloooo, Uncle's Rare Antiques!" Uncle declared in his shrill accented voice, not minding the inappropriate volume he used in his greetings.

Uncle frowned deeper than was usual for the old curmudgeon as he listened to the voice on the other end. The school never called with good news for the family, his grandniece was a wild-hearted girl and he knew from ages of experience what sort of conflict that could bring.

But the urgency in the principal's voice was different, not giving any detail. Just telling her guardians to come in immediately. He turned a glare towards Jackie and waved him over from where he silently read the paper at the kitchen table.

His nephew frowned, but obediently stood and came over, holding his question for until Uncle finished with his call. He already had a grim sneaking suspicion as to what the nature of this call was already. They were due for a Jade-call after all, so this was no great surprise.

Uncle hung up the phone, and gave Jackie a concerned glare through his pince-nez glasses. "Jackie! Jade's school called, they need you to go in urgently!"

"Alright," Jackie sighed, ready for another exasperating meeting with Jade's teachers. Before he could take a step towards the door,Uncle grabbed him by the arm.

"One more thing! Uncle is coming with you!" Uncle stated, letting go and putting his hands on his hips.

"What? Why?" Jackie asked, thrown off, the old man hardly got involved with the day to day minutia of Jade's scholarly exploits.

"The phone call sounded straaaange to Uncle, they wouldn't say what went wrong, just to come in! Uncle's not sure how schools work these days, but didn't like the sound of that," he declared with finality. Jackie knew better than to dispute him when he had this tone.

"Fine," Jackie grumbled, not looking forward to seeing how Uncle's abrasive attitude would go over with Jade's teachers. He'd have to be a mediator on top of everything as usual where his Uncle was concerned.

He walked to the door expecting Uncle to follow, but the old man grabbed his wrist again halting his progress for the third time.

"One more thing! TOHRU!" he shouted into the back room, "Watch shop until Uncle gets back from Jade's school!"

With that, the old man turned and dragged Jackie outside by the wrist.

A few seconds after the door shut, Tohru's mammoth head stuck out from the edge of the backroom door, "What was that, Sene- ARGH!"

Tohru stumbled back clutching his head at a horrific vibrating chill snaked through his body, arching through his spine like bolts of lightning all the way to his extremities. Tripping over his ankles as he fell back, his giant body collided hard with the floor. The impact of his sheer girth landing shook the downstairs foundation, toppling display stands. He could hear the sound of ancient china and other fragile antiquities shattering against the floor. However, even as he feared Uncle's wrath over the destruction of his priceless wares, it was the furthest thing from his mind.

'The willies', he realized with dawning horror as he lay on the hardwood floor of the shop. The telltale sensation associated with a very particular branch of Dark Chi; The Oni. He hadn't felt the unpleasant tingle since their lord and master, Tarakudo, had been sealed away in the final mask. He had contented himself with the knowledge that he'd never feel such a thing or face the vicious demons it heralded ever again.

Bitterly, he realized he should have known better by now. Worst of all; the sensation had never been THIS powerful. Not even for Tarakudo himself.

The newly realized Chi Wizard stumbled to his feet. Praying his master was still within earshot of wherever he had disappeared to; yanking the front door so hard it tore off its hinges as he stuck his head through. He frantically looked left and right for any sign of the old wizard, or Jackie.

He bit back a curse; they were already out of sight.

XXX

Jackie always hated visits to the principal's office. Miss Hartman preferred to not delegate matters so it only went to her superior when it had too. In other words it meant a Jade call among Jade calls.

The maintenance van parked in front of the school seemed like a bad sign though he hoped it was unrelated. The two African American parents sitting looking quietly angry was not unexpected. He recognized Drew more from Jades many ranting complaints about the boy than the few encounters they'd shared.

What was not expected was the boy's bruised face. Or Hartman slumping in a chair to the side with bandages wrapped around her head and one of her glasses lenses visibly cracked. She looked sunburned and dazed. He felt a need to brace himself in case the woman slid out of the armless chair.

Seeing the steadfast teacher that had once knocked Drago himself into the ocean so out of sorts he expected to be the greatest of alarm bells.

Then that bell was drowned out by a realization. Jade, was not in the room.

"Mr. Chan and Mr. Chan please have a seat. I imagine you are wondering why I called you here?" the middle-aged balding Hispanic man said. Jackie would rather the man tell him straight away what happened, but he took the offered seat putting himself next to Mr. Jacoby while Uncle took the remaining seat near Miss Hartman.

"Where is Jade?" Uncle interrupted, voicing Jackie's own concerns. "Uncle and Nephew are here for Grandniece but she's nowhere in sight!"

"Uncle, please," Jackie sighed, but turned a questioning frown towards the school administrator. "Though I am wondering that myself."

The principal just frowned, thumbing at his collar as visible perspiration seemed to dot his temples.

"I'm afraid the circumstances of this meeting are rather… complicated," the principal began nervously. Several documents face down on his desk that he kept shooting nervous glances towards. "Simply put… there was an incident this morning, involving your niece, Jade Chan, and Mr. Drew Jacoby here. We're-"

"Your girl punched my son so hard, they found him sprawled out in the hallway," Mr. Jacoby growled out, his hand firmly on Drew's shoulder, his wife nodding beside him. Drew looked away towards the corner of the room.

"Boy can see straight yes?" Uncle scoffed, placing his hands on his hips and eyeing Drew unimpressed. "Then Uncle does not see problem! Children fight, your boy should worry more about not doing whatever got him punched out again!"

"WHAT did you say, you-" Drew's mom began, but Jackie quickly got between them, trying to defuse the conflict.

"I'm sorry, my uncle, he's from another time. Please do not be offended," he tried to pacify. Both Jacoby parents looked at one another and frowned, but their attention was refocused when the principal cleared his throat.

"I understand emotions are running high, here. But this isn't simply a disciplinary matter," he started, trying to take control of the room again. "Apparently a… photo has been… circulating among the student body. We believe the incident is tied to this."

Jackie leaned back, raising his eyebrow critically, "What sort of photo do you mean?"

"W-well…" the Principal, slowly, with a slightly shaking hand eased one of the pages off the pile towards the two Chans.

Uncle in his impatience snatched the page from the Principal's hand and flipping it over.

The air seemed to be sucked from the room as Jackie and Uncle recognized the image displayed. Neither Chans noticed the Jacoby's show the good taste to look away. Drew was still silent besides them, focused on the floor.

After the bald faced shock and dawning horror began to wane, Uncle silently snatched the other pages from the principal's desk and began shredding them to confetti between his aged hands. Jackie slumped boneless in his seat, staring forward.

Jackie was a calm and even-tempered man at heart. Hardly ever prone to a cruel word or mean thought about anyone, even despite his rather violent life. But as a result, he struggled, lacking any coping mechanisms for the boiling and building rage growing within him. His fists gripping tighter in his lap until his knuckles were bone white. Who would do that to his niece? Jade was a good sweet girl at heart, full of boundless energy and strength, if dangerously reckless. But who ever had done this would have wanted to hurt her, deeply, permanently. Jackie couldn't imagine who would do such a thing, but if and when he found out…

Drew briefly glanced at Jackie Chan's clenched fist and lost all color in his face, detailed tales of his abilities replaying through his thoughts.

Jackie stood and walked directly up to the desk looking down at where the Principal began to sink in his seat, Uncle contemptuously dropping the new confetti into the waste paper basket.

"Where is my niece," he asked, each word enunciated clearly, his piercing gaze focused down on the administrator. He didn't have time to waste on this pointless meeting, his charge must have been feeling such hurt and violation from this utter catastrophe. He needed to be with HER. NOW.

Knowing better than to waste anymore time, the Principal swallowed again and muttered breaking eye contact, "We… don't know."

Suddenly Jackie's fist struck the desk, a visible crack forming in the polished wood, making the principal and everyone else but Uncle jump. Every one of Drew's fears and Jade's tales confirmed themselves with that single action.

"She was last seen running from the school!" the principal started, holding his hands up reflexively in defense. "The faculty and local police are already out looking for her, we should find your niece soon!"

Gritting his teeth, Jackie turned and stumbled back to his seat, choking on his own impotent rage as he sagged back into his chair. He covered his face into his hands as he went over these awful facts, beginning to weight him down.

Uncle used this opportunity to lean forward and look the principal in the eyes. "Uncle does not understand what disgusting picture and runaway niece have to do with boy and teacher looking beaten and sunbuuurned!"

Jackie blinked and looked over at Uncle realizing he'd forgotten all about that detail in the face of the photo, marveling at the way the old man was able to keep a clear head in spite of this tragedy.

The Principal frowned, this time less in shame but a prevailing sense of frustrated confusion. "That, we're still having looked at. It seems like some sort of… wiring or gas leak triggered a blast in one of the west hallways. The whole area is a wreck, it's a miracle this is the extent of the damage as is-"

"No," Ms. Hartman spoke up for the first time, her voice dry and cracked, immediately getting the attention of the entire room. Her eyes were dazed and unfocussed and Jackie worried she may have had a concussion.

"Jade was… so angry, I'd never seen her like that before…" she mumbled, slumping forward clutching the sides of her aching head, trying to recall through a haze of pain, confusion and twisted memories. Jackie placed a hand on her shoulder, concerned for the educator's worn condition.

"She… blamed Drew for the photos, hit him and-"

"My son would never do something like that-" Drew's father began to loudly protest before two of Uncle's fingers smacked him in the temple.

"Let teacher speak!" he warned, silencing the man who winched and rubbed his head, surprised and upset by the surprisingly quick strike.

"She… got sick," Hartman muttered, struggling to put words to the impossible events. "Gagging and choking, clutching her chest! Then there was some sort of… explosion from her."

"An explosion?" Jackie asked, brow furrowed, trying and failing to understand the teacher's confused words.

"I'm sorry," the principal began. "I wanted to send Ms. Hartman to the hospital, but she insisted on being here for this meeting, she's normally-"

Uncle's smacked the Principal silent in exasperation. "Everyone needs to let teacher speak! Veeery important!"

Hartman frowned at the loud shrill old man, but continued on, feeling more confident in having her words being treated with the necessary value. "She… changed after the blast. It was just horrible. Blue skin, awful red eyes… then she ran! Just flew through the window and disappeared… I… I think I did that too, once…"

Uncle and Jackie exchanged a look and stood. A cold chill of recognition settling in both of them. Blue skin and red eyes, the way she had seemed back when they were trying to outrun the Demon Sorcerers, when Jade had been cursed by the Mark of Tarakudo. Taking on the identity of Queen of all Shadowkhan, she'd been as dangerous as any other foe they'd faced in that state, violent and erratic.

But what could have triggered it now? The mark was gone, the book destroyed, and the monstrous Oni were all sealed away in Section 13's vault.

Uncle didn't need to tell Jackie he had come to the same conclusion, before looking at the principal. Looking worried he'd receive another smack from the crazy old Chinese man.

"Tell Uncle where this hallway is!" he demanded.

"G-go out into the hallway and head left, you c-can't miss it. But-"

Uncle nodded to Jackie and both began to head out towards the hall, but Jackie noticed Uncle stop and look down at Drew, his eyes narrowed.

Drew looked startled when Uncle walked up to him with a purpose and yanked his head up to look at the old man's long craggy face. His parents looked about to push Uncle away from their boy, but a look from Uncle stopped them in their tracks.

"Uncle has seen true evil, looked it in the eye, spit in its face! So sit and be silent, your words are just the bleating of goats in Uncle's ears!" He looked back at Drew, terrified in his grip. "Look Uncle in the eyes, boy."

Scared of the horrible old man, but too scared to disobey, Drew found himself looking into the pair of cold brown eyes. They seemed to pierce right into his brain.

"Did you take the pictures of Uncle's niece?" he asked, soft and stern.

Terrified of what may have happen if he told someone who scared his parents so the truth, Drew couldn't help himself but lie right to the old man's face. "N-no, it wasn't me…"

Uncle searched Drew's eyes for a minute, Jackie beginning to consider separating them himself but finding himself rooted down by the thought; 'What if he really did it?'

Finally stepping away, Uncle glared down at Drew, "It was you."

Looking back at his parents, Uncle crossed his arms and stated, "There is darkness in the boy, Uncle recommends you take him home and caaane it out of him before it settles!"

Without waiting for the flabbergasted parents' response, Uncle marched out of the office, dragging Jackie by the shoulder.

XXX

'He was right,' Jackie mused, covering his nose to try to block the awful acerbic stink surrounding them. 'There was no way we could have missed THIS.'

Thankfully it was midday so the light through the shattered windows let them see most of the details of the devastation in the place of the destroyed fluorescents.

The area before them was a wreck, every locker on either side of the hall was crushed and deformed, and some indistinguishably crumpled into one another. A blackened circle spreading out from the center of the hall to almost either side was clearly the epicenter of this strange blast. The explosion seemed to have melted all the way down to the concrete; the linoleum surrounding the circle was bubbled and blistered. Even the paint on the wall was crinkled away almost to nothing.

Uncle and Jackie were stopped by a few maintenance workers trying to keep them away from the destroyed area. But Uncle shoved them off and sent them running, having no respect whatsoever for their expertise in this matter. All Jackie could do was shout a weak "Sorry!" after the poor workers.

"Feh, when plumbing is bad you call plumber, when electricity problem you call electrician, when Dark Chi is at work, you call Unclllle!" he declared in annoyance at the obstruction, cursing the Age of Reason not for the first time that day.

"Do you really think Jade could have done something like THIS?" Jackie asked, marveling at the gruesomeness of the scene. "I can hardly believe she could have become-"

Jackie felt the familiar sting of Uncle's smack, as the old man's shrewd eyes looked over the devastation. "Uncle must concentrate, nephew! Be quiet!"

With practiced ease, Uncle reached into his vest and drew out his petrified lizard, then began mumbling an old chant under his breath as he waved it side to side.

As Jackie watched his Uncle work, he thought to himself how he never really understood what decided whether or not Uncle used the blowfish over the lizard, or vice versa. It seemed random, in his eyes, but he wasn't any sort of Chi Wizard. When he'd asked once, the answer he got was curt and largely nonsensical. All he knew was that Uncle's brand of Light Chi wizards always used a magical catalyst made from something from the natural world.

The lizard glowed faintly, but from Uncle's expression he wasn't satisfied by whatever 'readings' it was giving him. He reached down and touched his index finger into the black soot at the center of the circle, then brought it up to his nose for a sniff. Finally, much to Jackie's utter surprise and disgust licked the soot up in thought.

His eyes bugged in his socket, and he pointed at Jackie, "ONI! This is the Dark Chi of Ooooni!"

Jackie's eyes narrowed, crossing his arms in confusion and concern. He'd been afraid of this outcome, but as inevitable as it seemed, it still threw him off guard. "But… HOW? She wouldn't have… couldn't have put the mark on herself again. The book was destroyed, and… she'd know better, right?"

As reckless as Jade was, she certainly wasn't reckless enough to apply the Mark of Tarakudo a second time after the disaster of the first.

"No, this has a different feeling from then," Uncle frowned, stroking his wrinkled chin. "The dark energy here wasn't applied gradually through a catalyst. It exploded allll at once."

Jackie struggled to think of anything to say to that statement, well outside his depth. "Well… any ideas what could have caused this then?"

"Dark Chi, powerful Dark Chi especially, soaks into the spirit deep, like sponge," Uncle explained, voicing his thought process for his annoyingly ignorant nephew's benefit. "Jade was exposed to such power for over a day. Removing Mark broke its hold, but any that had blended with her spirit would remain, dormant."

He looked up into Jackie's eyes, "Darkness reacts to darkness. It resonates with negative emotions, fear, sadness… anger."

Jackie's eyes widened, then narrowed, his fists clenching at his side. "The photo!"

"Yes," Uncle nodded, a sadness beginning to tug at his expression. "The pain Jade must have felt then, and now. More than enough to trigger the remains of the Oni King's taint."

**C01-END**

**Author's Notes: Never expected to write a JCA fic, but here we are. This story wouldn't have been possible without the extremely talented Eduard Kassel to help me with structure and planning. Not to mention he's the one who recommended the show to me in the first place.**

**Unfortunately, none of my regular editors are familiar with JCA so I was forced to do most of the editing myself, so please forgive me any grammatical slips.**

**Please enjoy!**


	2. Hunter & Hunter

**Webwork**

**By **_**Trackula**_** and Co-written by **_**Eduard Kassel**_

C02 – Hunter & Hunter

Deep breathes, that was the first thing to become clear. Training when practiced long enough becomes ingrained. Those stories of martial artists ingrained with training but at master level control reacting without thought. Her experience showed it to be true. As even as she came back to herself, she could feel the calming breaths cooling her lungs.

Cooling indeed, she could feel the shape of them awkward in her chest, her heart, her bones, and even her stomach. The sunlight led her to open her eyes. She was lying down on her back in a puddle, the water steaming. Her eyes shifted and she realized she was in an alley.

The sight of the blue arm called her back to the present.

Jade leaned her head onto her right forearm against the alley wall, breathing hard. It felt like she'd just run five miles in as many minutes, her muscles and nerves feeling sore and stretched.

Once again she looked down at her left hand, a familiar shade of blue. A color Jade associated with twisted and dark memories that felt blurred and distorted.

'_So, I'm the Queen again?_' she asked herself, her mind as sore and confused as the rest of her.

She reached down and pulled her shorts leg up to get a look at her left calf, half-expecting a grimacing elaborate Oni face to look back at her. But there was nothing, just inhumanly smooth blue flesh.

'_How does that even WORK?_' she internally groaned, '_does Dark Chi relapse like cancer? Why would this happen now of all times?_'

With a sigh, she turned and slid down the wall, hugging her knees to her chest as she tried to get her head on straight. No way she'd be able to figure out the cause of her change on her own, not with her limited experience with the actual workings of magic.

She certainly didn't remember her transformation being nearly that rushed and CERTAINLY not that painful. The thought of it made her shudder. She'd hardly noticed it the last time, a steady and gradual metamorphosis from lame to awesome.

She frowned at the last thought; it seemed to not quite fit.

'_What now?_' she wondered, her eyes narrowing, going over the day's events in her head, '_I… DREW!_'

A white hot and familiar rage filled her, as her fists clenched and her red eyes flared with the memories of his terrible slight, '_I'll make him pay! Oh, what I'm gonna do to that awful disgusting creep when I get my hands on him, he'll wish his PARENT'S had never been born! I'll NEVER forgive him! He thinks he can do something like that to ME and get away with it?! To the QUEEN of the SHA-_'

Jade blinked hard, and shook her head, trying to dislodge that thought. '_Wait, I remember all this, this is the same song and dance from before. Last time I was all blueberry-flavored, I… feel like everything I did made sense at the time, but then…_'

Her eyes narrowed, '_When Jackie cured me, I know I was happy about it. But, why would I be? That doesn't make sense. Does it? Why would I be so happy about losing all that awesome dark magic…?_'

The young Oni groaned and rubbed her eyes, trying to recall her thoughts from that confusing time, none of it sticking or matching how she saw them now. She'd gone from some kid from Hong Kong with no power or influence to the absolute ruler of a race of shadows and darkness. But losing that made her happy. She'd regretted it after the fact, even.

'_Is… is it because I turned on Jackie when he tried to stop me? That was... okay, that was pretty thoughtless I admit,_' she rationalized. '_And I actually trusted SHENDU of all people! God, what WAS I thinking?! I'm smarter than THAT! Maybe all that power was starting to go to my head…_'

'_Okay,_' she nodded, '_that makes sense. I regretted it because all the stupid embarrassing crap I pulled. ANYONE would regret it._'

That didn't sound right even as she tried to force it, the thought making her very frustrated. She growled and stood, shoving her hands in her pockets, trying and failing to figure her own thoughts out as she stomped back and forth in the narrow space.

'_What-the-hell-ever!_' She finally declared, '_I don't have time for this. Whether or not feeding that creep Drew to a pack of rabid wolves is right or NOT, I'm not gonna get anywhere griping in this crappy dead-end alley!_'

Jade lifted several inches off the alley floor, honestly happy at retrieving her levitation after so long. That power was indisputably awesome, both sides of her mind definitely agreed with that!

She turned towards the darkest corner and flew towards It; commanding the Shadows to take her back to her room.

Then she struck the bricks nose first and bounced off, landing hard on her rear and holding her nose in pain. After a minute or two of writhing on the ground while holding her bruised nose, Jade managed to shake off the pain and stand enraged.

"Take me to my room!" she shouted at the shadow, then marched forward and pressed her hand against it, expecting to pass right on through like cold water.

Jade felt the brick wall press back and came to a dead halt. With a roar she punched forward, her demon strength putting her fist clean through the masonry with a satisfying and therapeutic crunch. She pulled her fist back and shook the dust off, before turning towards the shadows around her.

"Please at least let THIS work," she pleaded aloud, gesturing to the shadows around her with both hands.

"Shadowkhan, come to me!" she demanded grandly, raising both arms above her head.

She looked around, her mood sinking more and more. Not a grim and deadly shadow warrior in sight. It was just her standing alone in an alley with her hands above her head like a complete jackass. Gritting her razor-sharp teeth, she let loose another growl and stomped her foot, cracking the pavement.

"What is going on?!" she shouted at the sky, "Last time I was, like, the Dark Queen of the whole damn Universe! Where's my power?! Where's my minions?! This time sucks!"

She winced and rubbed her nose, all her shouting having irritated her abused schnoz. Reaching behind her back, she pulled out her compact and went to check the damage.

Flipping it open, she turned to assess her new reflection. Turning to the mirror, she promptly shrieked and tripped over her legs when she was suddenly greeted with red flesh, cruel yellow eyes, and bushy white eyebrows.

"Are we experiencing technical difficulties?" the reflection of Lord Tarakudo asked from the mirror.

Jade narrowed her eyes at the compact resting in her outstretched hand. She tipped it out of her hand before pulling herself into a sitting position glaring at the image of the Oni King.

"Tarakudo?" she asked.

"No, it's the White Rabbit. Care to follow me down the hole?" the sealed evil rolled his eyes. Jade reached over to close the compact.

"Wait a minute now! Hear me out," he objected as the tips of her fingers reached the compact.

"Why? Last time I checked we were enemies. Or are you to say you're responsible for my going dark again?" Jade asked shortly.

"Much as I would like to claim a role in your restoration, no. This is a natural process. Unlike your meddlesome sumo you took on my mark only by your own desire and embraced its power of your own free will.

"They may have set your metamorphosis into remission, but I always knew sooner or later your true colors would come to light. Granted I had hoped it would not be after I was sealed, thank for that by the way," he snarked. Jade flipped the compact closed.

"Nice try! But it's not that easy to tune me out," he spoke up from her left. She turned and saw his reflection now in the puddle.

"I got all the Shadowkhan Tribes to unite for the first and only times in our race's history. One doesn't do that by being easily ignored or dissuaded."

"Well I'm not feeling very patient right now. So say something worth hearing or I give the old Chan try at tuning you out," Jade threatened the puddle.

"Very well, oh Queen of the Shadowkhan. Now that you have been restored to your proper mind and body, what now?"

"Revenge," she answered quickly.

"And then what?" he pressed. She noted he did not ask on whom.

Jade frowned, and then scoffed and rolled her solid red eyes, "Then who cares? All I wanna do is make Drew pay. What else matters? Maybe I'll even let Jackie…"

She frowned, finding herself uncomfortably of two minds about her words again. Nothing feeling very balanced in her thoughts. Why was everything so confusing now? It was nothing like this the first time; there was just a grim and focused confidence in everything she did. No second-guessing or debating. Anything she wanted was right, anything that opposed what she wanted was wrong and was to be destroyed. But now…

"You seem a bit conflicted, my dear. Want me to tell you why?" Tarakudo coyly offered, already knowing her answer.

"Fine whatever, Red-Cheeks," Jade glared, crossing her arms. "I'm missing school now anyways, so educate me."

"Charmer," The Oni King groaned, "Before, you were intoxicated on the flood of power and Dark Chi building within you. It mucked up your thoughts gave you no cause to question every little impulse that came to mind."

He looked her up and down, "But now your powers are a fraction of their former self AND you're alone, so you need to actually put some thought to things. Also, you remember the sensations from before, so you aren't so easily taken off guard by them."

"So… first time was binge drinking and a bad hangover, and now I know to pace myself?" Jade asked, trying to follow Tarakudo's explanation, equating it to a comment her father once said about taking his new co-workers out to pubs.

Tarakudo's eyes narrowed in frustration at the comparison, "… Sure. That."

Jade suddenly stood and pointed accusingly down at the Lord Oni, "SPEAKING of that, what gives?! My powers suck now! I can't make Ninja, I can't warp darkness!"

She gestured down at her current ensemble, "I probably can't even make myself a bitchin' new outfit again!"

"Oh, wow, that is a big deal," Tarakudo drawled, "It's almost as if I and every other Shadowkhan Tribe out there were SEALED by you or something. Fancy that."

"So then it doesn't matter WHAT I do," Jade declared, clenching her fists at her side in growing frustration at her own impotence and her less-than-welcome company. "I can't use my powers and you're still in whatever hole we put you in."

She threw her hands up and declared, "Maybe I should just LET Uncle Jackie fix me and skip all this crap! I remember I was happy when he DID, so it'll probably just be better for everyone that way. Well, except for you, but you totally suck!"

Knowing he was losing control of the room, Tarakudo frowned and let the conversation pause so his much younger companion could settle before finally responding, "Now, let's not be hasty. I'd like you to consider a few things carefully before you do anything you can't take back."

Jade's glared, a frown tugging at her near-black lips. "You got five minutes, Bright Eyes. Then I'm off to make sure Drew's first kiss is with a working belt-sander."

"More than enough, Your Majesty," Tarakudo nodded, fighting back his smirk, knowing that any show of smugness on his part could set the irate and unstable young Oni off again.

"First; consider this," he began, "You have been miserable ever since you sent those bloated salamanders packing to whatever Hell they and their like belong. The possibility that this is where the Adventure of Jade Chan ends haunts you."

"How would you even BEGIN to know that, Old Man?" Jade growled between her teeth, getting on her hands and knees so she could bring her face up to the puddle.

Tarakudo met her smoldering gaze with nary a flinch, "I was spying on you, obviously. I have a lot of free time for some reason… "

"And while I can imagine the concept of 'spying' may be a bit raw for you now given the circumstances," he admitted with some forced humility, "it doesn't make my claim any less true. You, my Queen, became more stressed and bored with each uneventful day that passed you by."

There was a pause as Jade let that sink in, even with her tumultuous mentality, she knew his words were accurate. These coming months of no magic or mayhem were wearing her down like a rock in the path of the tides. She was beginning to feel more and more like that lonely bitter girl she hoped to leave behind in Hong Kong. She pushed the thought aside, to glare back at the Lord of the Shadowkhan.

"Even if that IS true, and we'll get back the whole 'creepy old guy peeping on a young lady' detail, believe it, what does NOW have to do with it?" she stated, leaning back and thrusting her bottom lip out petulantly.

Tarakudo smirked, taking note of the subtle shift in her expression, a twitch in her right eye. He had his in but he wasn't so inexperienced and impatient as to pounce on it just yet. The best manipulation was in letting the victims come to their own conclusions.

"Chan Yu," Tarakudo stated, enjoying watching her jump slightly. "You decided to go by Jade on the way over to America, I presume. Rather obvious change I must admit, but I can appreciate the sentiment. Wanting to start fresh; be who you always wanted to be, who you CHOOSE to be. I've been there myself, you know. An eternity ago."

"Don't call me Yu," Jade wanted to say, cursing the Oni King for delving into her life so forcefully. Two violations into her privacy in the same day was two too many.

But it was true; her name change had been an impulse as she was on the plane to the States, a desire to decide on her own what sort of person she was going to be from then on. Several adventures later and she had been happy to leave Yu behind, having begun to associate that girl with the boring monotony of city life with no aspirations and no friends.

With Drago's defeat and the sealing of him, Shendu and the Talismans, it was starting to feel like Yu was coming back, and Jade was beginning to sink back into idle fantasy and dreams.

She looked away, trying not to think about such personal matters while before one of her worst enemies.

'_Now_,' Tarakudo decided, '_is the time to drive in the spike._'

"Give yourself to this new Oni life, and heed my VAST wealth of experience and wisdom and I promise you that the life extraordinary will never leave you behind again. I can lead you to everything you've ever dreamed of, riches and power inconceivable to modern mortals," his eyes seemed to grin, despite himself. "All I ask; is that you trust me."

"You offer a lot. But trusting you is asking a lot. Shendu promised Valmont riches; last I saw him he was a pathetic tenement rat," Jade pointed out.

"Please don't lump me in with the dragons," Tarakudo scoffed in mild disgust, "They are greedy, too greedy. For all their power the evil dragons never got further than Shendu did, because they could never understand long term planning. Spending money to earn money"

"I am a king, Jade. And while you might become a king through backstabbing and dirty dealing, you won't keep a throne for long with that. No you have to invest well in your kingdom, particularly your vassals. I treated even those bumbling humans better than the Dragons or the wizard. And despite being sealed my Generals went back to my rule without as much as a grumble," he smirked, self-assured.

"Because I believe in building up promising talent, and rewarding competent service. Naturally I have the stick to go with the carrot, but the carrot is very real I assure you. And so much more effective for all involved than the stick."

There was a pause as he let Jade digest that in silence, before her went on, "But I'm not going to rush you into a life changing decision. No, I have some class. So go on with what you are certain about, take your revenge, think my offer over while you put the screws to the peeping peasant."

"I can be patient. Just say my name into any mirror, when you have an answer. Or you could have this chat with Jackie Chan, I'm sure he would like to get to know Yu," he told her. He heard her muffled protest as he let the connection fade, but did not answer.

As the image faded he let the smile he held back bloom. Yes he could be patient, because he knew a few people who wouldn't be. He had assured that Jade would pursue her righteous vengeance against the boy. An act which regardless of success or failure would see her condemned as lost to darkness by her kin.

They would not try to reason with her after last time, not with her seeking to harm another child. Or rather they would try and anything less than immediate compliance would be seen as necessitating her capture. They would abdicate the moral high ground to him without even realizing it.

The young Oni would call to him of her own free will. Propelled by the heroes best intentions and her own insecurities and fears of the future she would in the pursuit of freedom and meaning give herself to the shadows. The dominos were in motion; he merely needed to wait for them to knock the prodigy into his waiting hands.

Or rather, the hands of an old friend.

This was going to be glorious, just as he had promised her.

XXX

Blue fingers dug into the brick work, pulling their owner silently and steadily closer towards their master's destination and the spectacular vengeance that awaited her therein. It would be biblical, a cautionary tale of consequence that would survive throughout the ages like the Boy Who Cried Wolf.

'_At least it will be when I finally get up there!_' Jade griped in silence, reaching up to dig her preternaturally strong fingers into the wall of the building for another handhold for her to pull herself up by.

'_What good is being able to float around if I need to climb manually to get anywhere higher than five feet!?_' her incensed mood making her almost miss sticking her foot into one of the grooves her hand had earlier dug out and stumbling. She hung free from her left hand for a moment, before she gathered her calm back.

With a groan she righted herself and continued up, '_And why does Drew need to live on the top floor!? How many ways is that dick gonna piss me off today?!_'

Finding out where Drew lived had been the easy part, all Jade had to do was check the phonebook. But waiting for the right time to strike was nerve-wracking. She knew from experience i.e. horror flicks, that the best time for things like this was well after the victim had gone to sleep. But it was still midday when she'd begun planning this out.

Jade had never been a patient girl at the best of times, and these were far from the best times.

After all, normally Jade did not feel a rush of dark power inside her twisting her more sensible thoughts and playing on her rage. It was nearly impossible to keep herself from just rushing to Drew right out in the open with that dark voice making up a noticeable share of her thoughts demanding she waste no time.

Worst of all was Lord Big Giant Head spying on her like some creepy old lecher. Not to mention his words and offer that she was trying hard NOT to think about.

The worst part by far had been how true they sounded. She knew from experience he was not nearly the brutal taskmaster that Chilli-Breath and Wrinkles had been, and his Oni generals had fallen right in line the moment they had been unleashed. She knew fear enough by now to see when it wasn't in play. They served Tarakudo because they, brain-hungry chaotic monsters, trusted him.

The thought of THAT just wouldn't leave her alone and it was starting to damage her frayed calm beyond repair.

She'd needed to do something to distract herself, which wasn't easy with her X-boy fried and molten from the maelstrom that was her transformation. THAT hadn't been a fun thing to discover when she'd reached into her pocket. She had some great games on that lost forever!

Wasn't like Jade could go anywhere like the arcade or mall looking like she did either. So she contended herself to run around, putting her new strength to the test, jumping from roof to roof with frightful speed and ease. It was definitely the highlight of her day, feeling such a rush of physical might in her small body.

Eventually, Jade had come across some laundry out to dry besides one of the apartment balconies she'd run across and was struck with an idea. She couldn't make an appropriately sinister outfit befitting her royal status now, but she could probably jury-rig one to serve in the interim. At the very least it'd have given her something more to do until nightfall.

She'd found a gothy-looking frilly black dress in the pile that was definitely for a taller frame than her own, but a few rips and tears later and it fit just fine. The tattered and shredded skirt reminded her of her last queenly gown.

There was also a silky black and purple scarf. Seeing it brought a smirk to her eye. If anime had taught her anything, nothing was quite so dramatic as a scarf billowing in the wind. She tied it around her throat, but the size of it blocked her mouth from view and trailed long behind her back.

'_Maybe keeping my mouth covered, and then flashing Drew all my pearly-whites will be a good pre-empt to make the dork pee himself_' she'd mused, observing herself in the window with approval.

She'd changed quickly leaving her old clothes behind, including her shoes and socks. She didn't need those before and she certainly didn't need them now. Besides, they weren't built to accommodate super strength, and all her stomping around earlier had left the soles tattered useless hunks of rubber. Better to just go barefoot.

Unfortunately, once the time came, Jade had come to the annoying and frustrating realization that Drew's apartment building was taller than the surrounding ones. She couldn't simply leap up to the room, and it wasn't beneath a fire escape.

After several embarrassing attempts to float on up to the window like a vampire in a Hammer film, Jade had suppressed a growl and began her ascent the old fashioned way, bringing her to her present predicament.

She was thankful now that she'd ditched her shoes. Even with super strength this would have been nearly impossible if she'd kept them on.

Finally, thankfully, she reached her destination. The window to Drew's bedroom, at least she hoped it was. Jade would never have admitted it but she was just guessing at this point. It wasn't as if she had stopped at City Planning and snagged a floor plan of the building. But from the posters she could see in the darkness around the room's interior, it was obviously a young boy's.

She wasn't gonna waste another second clinging to the outside wall several stories up and exposed to the elements. The wind picked up the higher she went and it was a nightmare clinging to the side of the wall and bearing it.

Jade reached over, grasping the window tightly between her powerful fingers, bracing herself. It was locked as she expected, but her crushing grip made short work of that business. She was careful not to damage the window itself. She could see the twerp wrapped up in Superman bed sheets. Wouldn't do to wake the little angel from his beauty sleep.

'_Just call me the tooth-fairy, Cromedome,_' Jade smirked, dark lips pulling back behind her scarf to reveal cruel fangs, '_and I'm here to collect._'

Silently, she raised the window up bit by bit, imagining every horrifically delicious scenario her thirteen-year-old mind could come up with as she eased the portal wide enough. So many choices, so many opportunities, but she could only reasonably pick a handful and that was it. Then there were just regrets of chances come and gone.

'_I'll just play it by ear,_' she decided finally, widening the window just enough that she could squeeze her small frame through. '_Speaking of ears, maybe I'll keep one of his._'

The new Oni slid through, silent as a wraith, wishing she could see herself all shadowy and awesome. Her scarf trailed silently behind her, whipping in the heavy wind. Feeling every bit like a Ghost of Vengeance, she settled onto his bed and eased the window back shut, not wanting the breeze to wake her victim before she was good and ready.

Jade regarded the lump warily, her red eyes filling the room with a soft sinister rosy light like a pair of flashlights built into her skull. This boy, this awful inhuman creep had hurt her worse than she could imagine, worse than any monster or demon she had ever faced. And for what? Because she wasn't gonna let him CHEAT on HOMEWORK?

She knew exactly what she was going to do first; he needed to admit what he'd done. She'd MAKE him tell her why to her satisfaction. Then she'd show him the error of his ways; make him beg for her forgiveness, crying and pleading for some shred of mercy. He'd need to feel the humiliation and violation he'd put her through a thousand fold.

The voice in her head making her second-guess herself this whole time was becoming more muted, especially where her revenge was concerned. Perhaps even it agreed on this course of action, or maybe the torrent of conflict she'd been swimming through all day was beginning to settle, for better or for worse.

She slowly reached her dark hand over to grip the covers hiding Drew from sight. Her eyes narrowing, adrenaline beginning to rush through her as she got ready for her every dark impulse to be unleashed like a storm.

'_Look at him, sleeping like a baby after nearly ruining my LIFE,_' she bit back an animalistic snarl in her throat, '_Even the way he sleeps is annoying! Who actually sleeps all bundled up like…_'

Her eyes widened, her mouth an 'O' as a dawning horror began to set in. '_Oh no, no no NO NO NO NO NO!_'

Releasing her suppressed roar, she yanked back the sheets and confirmed all her fears. Beneath her was a big featureless mannequin. A decoy. In other words, bait. And she was the brainless fish that bit down on the hook! Which could only mean…

Jade whipped around to look at the rest of the room; eyes suddenly flooded with terrible light as a figure burst from the closet and flipped the switch. She hid her eyes with her left forearm and quickly shot to her feet, hovering defensively over the bed.

"Hey, Jackie," Jade growled out in her stereo distorted voice, guessing already who the fleet-footed sneak was in the room with her.

"Jade," her uncle stated grimly, she couldn't see his face while her eyes adjusted to the sudden light but she could immediately tell from his tone that his expression was that hybrid mix of concern and admonishment she was more than used to by now.

Jackie always defaulted to this expression when he treated her like some kid, not the girl who had saved his and everyone else's lives literally dozens of times. Even despite her anger and betrayal, a familiar tendril of annoyance crept in for good measure.

"You knew I'd come here for Drew," it wasn't a question but Jackie nodded regardless.

"We had a good idea that you couldn't help yourself, judging by how you acted last time," his tone became direr when he mentioned 'last time'. It obviously was a sore spot for her uncle. "Didn't expect you'd wait so long though."

Jade finally moved her arm aside, seeing him wince when getting a good look at her new Queenly eyes. In her anger, the sight brought her some satisfaction. "So, where'd you hide Drew?"

"You don't need to know that," Jackie stated crossing his arms as he regarded her, shifting his weight. Jade had trained with him enough to recognize when her uncle was preparing to strike out. But he was still relaxed. Perhaps he really would let her speak before trying to… urgh… 'fix' her.

"How about you at least tell me how you talked them into letting perfect strangers in their home at night," Jade asked, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. She was thankful her eyes couldn't betray where she was looking as she searched left and right for any advantages.

"We left that to Captain Black," Jackie admitted, sliding closer to his demonic niece. "Fumigation warning or something, they don't know we're here and won't find out."

His gaze hardened, "Jade, you need to come with us. You're not well, remember? Just like last time, I know you're hurt, but-"

"Think so?" Jade asked, cutting Jackie off. "I guess the school would have told you, so yeah, I suppose you'd KNOW how hurt I am. But you don't UNDERSTAND it. What he DID, or you wouldn't be protecting him! If anything, you should have ripped him a new one before I even got a chance!"

Jackie's eyes widened as her distorted voice rose in volume and her fangs bared. He held up his hands to try and calm her down, showing Jade he wasn't her enemy.

"It's not that I don't understand, me and Uncle, Tohru, we were sickened when we heard about what happened to you! I would do anything to take it back so you didn't need to go through that in the first place, I swear it."

"Even as all that's true," he added, authority coming through in his voice again, "Whatever you were planning to do in retaliation is wrong, Jade. It wouldn't fix anything; just drag you down with him."

Jade's brow knit and she looked down, unable to help hearing the hurt in her beloved uncle's voice, even angry as she was. She knew he was telling the truth, this was Jackie. He would never lie to her about something like this…

'_But still,_' she thought, anger beginning to take root once again, '_it did happen. He can't take it back, so Drew's gotta pay. It's as simple as that._'

"Sorry, Jackie," Jade sighed, moving her hand through her bangs in frustration, "No. He hurt me and I won't let him get away with it! It's not fair that I need to! I'm the victim here, not Drew!"

"Jade, please, you need help! Just listen, I promise you'll feel better once we remove the Dark Chi from y-" Jackie began, stepping forward to reach her but Jade hissed, slapping his hand aside and hovering around so her back was to the dresser.

"No, you listen," Jade began, making sure to keep a nice distance between herself and her uncle as she eased her way towards the door. "I know you wanna take my power away. Well guess what! I don't want you to. I like it and I'm not gonna give it up for anyone BUT me! This is MY choice, understand?"

Jackie narrowed his eyes, upset and frustrated. He'd expected things would be worse, like before. But Jade seemed more lucid now. It'd given him hope that he could appeal to the human inside, but that hope was starting to dwindle away. "That's the Dark Chi talking, not you! It's corrupting you like it does everyone else! Like you've SEEN it do many times already!"

"It's different now, this is all me," Jade glared, now close to the door with Jackie having circled around by the window. "I have opportunities now I never did before and I want the choice to be MINE if I go for them. I don't WANT you to be my enemy and I don't want to be yours, totally. So please just step aside."

"You saved Drew from me for now, so congrats. Round 1 goes to Jackie Chan. Clever with the closet by the way," Jade acknowledged wryly, "I'd have shadow shifted into their myself if I co-"

She clamped both hands over her mouth, horrified of what she'd just given away. Jackie couldn't help but shake his head and smirk.

"We already figured your powers wouldn't be like before, you confirmed it on your own when you came in through the window."

"Clever," she scoffed, embarrassed at having been so easily seen through once again, "But whatever. Will you let me go?"

Jackie sighed and shook his head, "You know I can't let you do that, Jade. This is for your own good."

"Y'know," she drawled, fighting back the feeling of betrayal at her mentor denying her own honest request. "Family is supposed to be supportive about a kid's career choices."

"I really doubt that includes becoming an evil Oni overlord," Jacke responded back waspishly, readying himself to spring.

Quickly before he made his move, Jade reached the doorknob, ripping the door open without bothering to turn the knob and rushing forward.

She then bounced back into the room when met with a familiar wall of flab and muscle barely contained into a pair of overalls.

Jade rolled on the ground for a moment but before she could right herself, her uncle was upon her, looping his arms under her armpits and behind her head, securing her firmly. The hold was awkward enough that she couldn't quite manage the leverage needed to break free on super strength alone.

"Et tu, Tohru?" Jade hissed at the massive sumo as he stepped into the room. The ex-Enforcer looked down at his young friend, a lost look in his eyes before turning away sadly.

"Jackie is right, Jade. This is for your own good," he muttered softly, trying not to see this as the betrayal Jade accused him of. She was an Oni now, a creature of darkness and destruction. Once she was returned to her normal human state, she would thank them just like before.

"Everyone is telling me what's for my own good," Jade spat, turning her solid red eyes away from the sumo in disgust.

"Only one person knows what's best for me and that's ME!" Jackie was prepared for Jade struggling. But he didn't anticipate her levitation lifting them both into the ceiling and smashing him against it.

Jackie released his captive more out of shock than pain, letting Jade fly away from him, knowing from experience that the safest place in a fight with Jackie was nowhere near him. She jumped over Tohru's grasping arms, taking advantage of the sumo's reluctance to harm her to run up his arms and knee him in the face.

He tilted and fell towards Jackie like a falling tree, forcing her spry uncle to roll further back to avoid being crushed. If the situation wasn't so against her and she wasn't so pissed off, Jade would have shouted "Timber!" Even now she regretted missing the opportunity.

She saw a clear path towards the hallway and went for it, missing Jackie jumping and repelling on the side wall to land near-effortlessly in front of her until she'd already crashed back into his chest. Tohru had recovered by now and was standing on her other side blocking the window.

Jade swallowed nervously, looking left and right. Her fists clenched, and she raised them with well trained focus. She couldn't just avoid them, it seemed. They wouldn't let her get out of this without a fight.

'_Well if it's a fight they want,_' she mentally resigned herself, not relishing the idea of raising her hands against some of the most important people in her life, '_I'll show them a fight._'

She made a faint of flying towards Jackie, since the obvious exit was through the door. But at the last moment whipped around and kicked Tohru in the side. Her unnatural strength and his own surprise piercing the big man's defenses and setting him back to the floor.

She rushed towards the window but a sudden constriction around her neck stopped her dead and she crashed to the floor right along with the sumo. Looking up, Jade cursed in horror at Jackie glaring down at her in disapproval holding the end of her scarf tight in his grip.

'_Scarf!_' she mentally cried out in horror and embarrassment, '_you betrayed me too?!_'

As she struggled to free herself from the traitorous garment, something small and round smashed against her shattering and covering her left shoulder in dark green fluid. She cried out as the fluid seemed to burn and sear into her through her dress. In her shock, Tohru grabbed her ankles and Jackie let go of her scarf to grab her wrists.

Jade looked up to see Uncle looking down at her with his piercing squinty eyes, his arms crossed.

"I figured you'd show up eventually, Uncle," she muttered looking around the room. "Where the hell were you anyways? And what is this disgusting gunk?!"

She was surprised when Uncle smacked her where she struggled with her captors on the ground, Oni royalty weren't supposed to be smacked!

"Jade is veeery disrespectful when flooded with Evil Chi! Made Uncle wait sooo long under awful boy's bed he fell asleep!"

"I was wondering why you missed the signal," Jackie mumbled under his breath, earning his own smack.

"Uncle hit you with poooowerful tracking spell! Juuust in case the first attempt at grabbing you failed!" he smirked; "Now there's nowhere you can run! Give up and let us purge the Dark Chi or risk earning yourself a piece of Uncllle?"

He frowned at her bald faced rage as she roared and twisted her limbs back and forth. "Jade, Uncle does not want to see you like this any longer, twisted by hate! Settle down and let Uncle find counter-spell! The longer this transformation takes hold…"

Uncle didn't finish but she could tell what he was getting at. She grit her teeth and eased her struggling. She knew they all cared about her; she wasn't ignorant of that even in this state. They were her family, of course they cared and worried for her.

But that was Old Jade they cared about, all they seemed to see in New Jade was an enemy to be defeated so they can go back to the way they wanted things to be. Not her. This wasn't REALLY for her own good like their kept claiming. This was for THEIR own good.

'_They don't really care about what I want,_' she realized, '_they think they do, but this is all about them! Well, no more. I am DONE, the awful old bastard knew this would happen, didn't he. THAT'S why he was so smug! He knew it'd turn out just like this!_'

"Jade," Uncle said, getting down on one knee beside her, his tone softer than she was used to from the loud old curmudgeon. "You need to be calm, Dark Chi has settled deep within you and it's Uncle's fault for not knowing until too late. This could have been prevented, Uncle is very sorry."

The young Oni blinked, her anger momentarily distracted by the old man's sincerity. Her struggles in the grip of Tohru and Jackie eased off.

"Uncle doesn't know spell to remove this taint, but will find one or invent one if he cannot! But you must be patient and not feed into darkness with anger or fear or it will fester! We just want to help you."

Jade's eyes widened, Uncle's words drilling a hole in her skull, becoming louder and louder until they were all she could hear; 'We just want to help Yu.' Just Yu. That was who her family wanted back, Yu, not Jade. Just lonely pathetic Yu.

"Yu's not coming back," she whispered, closing her eyes and grimacing as she blocked out the terrible thought.

"What?" Jackie asked leaning close, not having quite heard what Jade had whispered. Tohru blinked and leaned closer himself, also having missed the hushed claim. Uncle's sharp ears caught the words though, his brow furrowing as he realized his error.

Jackie's momentary distraction from Jade's words and her temporary inactivity cost him dearly when his niece suddenly exploded in violent roaring and thrashing, looking every bit the demon she was becoming. Jackie's grip tried to hold firm but she managed to wrench her right wrist closer to her face.

Bearing her fangs, she twisted her head around and bit down on the meat between Jackie's thumb and index finger. He cried out, pulling his bloody hand free from the fangs surprised and hurt that Jade would actually bite him.

Jade immediately turned her freed hand against him, balling it into a fist and lashing out. Her super-strong punch struck his forearm hitting like a lead pipe and easily wrenched his other arm from her left wrist.

With both arms free she immediately levitated to keep her head from striking the carpet. She could see Uncle reach into his vest and draw out his petrified pufferfish, a chi spell already beginning to form on his lips. She quickly yanked off her scarf and threw the end that'd been looped around her throat over Uncle's wrist when he began to aim the offending fish her way.

She yanked hard, hoping to get the old man to drop the fish. But as always there was unassuming strength in the old frame and he held firm. However the yank had thrown him off balance and she grabbed him by the collar and tossed him back towards Jackie.

Jackie caught Uncle before he could strike the desk, but doing so kept him from being able to aid Tohru when Jade focused her sights on her huge friend.

"Jade, wait-" Tohru attempted, but hearing none of it, Jade grabbed him by the arms, crushing his massive wrists under her monstrous grip until they released. Then wasting no time Jade floated up as quickly as her levitation allowed and grabbed either side of Tohru's skull around the ears. Her grip secured, she then pulled him down into her waiting knees. Tohru struck hard against her kneecaps for the second time that night and lost his grip on her immediately.

Wasting no time, Jade ran up the downed giant's back to keep her body between him and the two adult Chans. The window to her freedom in was right before her eyes.

Jade ignored their protests and calls to wait; there was no time to open the window. Bracing herself, and summoning strength into her small legs, she leapt. Her dark body shattered the barricade and fell into the open night.

"Jade!" Jacke cried out, running over the still downed Tohru along the same path Jade had to the smashed window. He quickly thrust his head out and looking down towards the street. Mentally begging and praying he wouldn't see her little body crushed and splattered in the alley below.

At first Jackie saw nothing, his vision obscured by street lamps and dark shadows, eyes stinging with the wind rushing past the top floor. But he heard a strange scraping noise on the corner of his consciousness. After what felt like forever, finally to his overwhelming relief, a little body stumbled clumsily into the light, bright red eyes glaring back up at him in the window she'd just absconded from.

Jade's hands were pressed under her arms, and she stared back up at her uncle and mentor in open defiance. Then she shouted out for all to hear, "YU'S NOT COMING BACK!"

With that she turned and ran stumbling awkwardly into the open night. Jackie could tell, even from this distance, she was injured in some way. The thought brought a jolt down his spine like a bolt of lightning. He turned quickly and nearly crashed into Uncle, having not noticed the man standing at his side until now.

Tohru was in the midst of struggling to his feet. Both the big man's eyes were turning a dark purple from the developing bruises, souvenirs from his twin encounters with Jade's kneecaps. He rubbed his giant head and groaned, easily having had the worst of their encounter with the new Oni and his best friend.

As much as Jackie wanted to just rush downstairs after his niece, he paused and forced himself to ask; "Is everyone alright? Nobody got hurt?"

He got a smack for his trouble, "Are your two eyes for decoration?! We are fine; now let's get down to the street quickly!"

Jackie was thankful for Uncle's impatience for once as it got them into the elevators and down to the ground floor without much wasted time besides realizing Tohru would need to go down separately. The three quickly made their way over to the side of the building where they'd seen Jade disappear.

Down on the street, the wind was just a light breeze, with the city lights and cloudless sky revealing a fat waxing moon provided more light on the scene than Jackie could have asked for.

Looking up from the shattered window, Jackie could see gouges along the stone wall starting from just under the window and leading sporadically down to several feet above the sidewalk. The trail was dashed and dotted like Morse code. He put together immediately that Jade must have thrust her fingers into the stonework and used them to break her fall on the way down.

As Jackie observed the impressive feat of strength owed to Jade's most recent transformation, he noticed something that made his heart sink. The further down the claw marks seemed to go, the darker and wetter they became.

Near their end they were stained a clearly a dark red, almost purple. The color dripped lazily down from the gouges.

Swallowing down bile, Tohru reached up and plucked something dark and glistening from end of one of the marks, bringing it down for the group to see.

At first Jackie wasn't sure what the tattered and crushed object was sitting in the center of Tohru's massive palm. It was shiny and dark purple, almost black with a texture like glass or crystal. But slowly the identity of the object dawned on him and he looked away, clenching his fists, the blood draining from his face. Uncle giving a soft "Aiyah" as he shook his head, and Tohru seemed to turn a light shade of green.

It was one of Jade's fingernails.

XXX

Jackie leaned back in his hard seat leaning away from Tohru who took up most of the van's interior. The two were squeezed into the rear of the vehicle to give Uncle the space he needed to monitor the tracking spell they'd thankfully managed to peg Jade with during their ill-fated encounter.

Captain Black had not taken the news of their failure very well. When Jackie had contacted him and explained the details of their fight with his niece and her escape, the man seemed to step away from the phone for a moment, and Jackie could have sworn he heard something glass crack in the interim before he'd returned to the phone sounding strained.

He'd told the three under no uncertain terms that as doing things their way had ended in complete failure, it was his turn now to do things his way. Jade was an injured fugitive on foot and he knew all about tracking those.

Uncle had bit back a curse and tried to tell Black that this was a magic affair. He repeated 'Magic must defeat magic' for the hundredth time, but the bald captain was having none of it. As much trouble as Jade tended to cause, Black liked her and on some level respected her. He refused to be shoved aside regarding her pursuit, regardless of the old Wizard's claims.

A van and driver was sent to them moments later and Uncle reluctantly went along with Black's demands, choosing to focus solely on his tracking spell. At least Black knew enough about magic to trust that much.

The old man was barking orders and directions to the beleaguered agent driving the vehicle, forced to balance the instructions, driving, and reporting directions to the other pursuit vehicles involved in the chase. If Jackie had more energy he'd have apologized on behalf of the group, but as it stood he could only stew in his seat.

The inactivity was getting to Jackie and Tohru, repressed emotions from the day's events beginning to rise to the surface, no longer able to be distracted by action and planning.

They had failed Jade almost completely and now she was out there even more erratic and angry than before as her mind was being whittled away bit by bit from dark magics, and injured on top of everything. Who knew what state she'd be in by the time they found her. Would she be feral and rabid like Tohru had been, completely having lost her mind and humanity?

Jackie looked up when he noticed Tohru frown and lean forward. His voice was low so as not to have the agent up front overhear.

"Jade, before she left," he began, looking over at Uncle and Jackie, "I think she said 'You isn't coming back'. Do you know what she meant?"

Jackie frowned and leaned his head back against the seat, rubbing his temples in tired thought, "You…? I'm not-"

"'Yu', not 'You'!" Uncle spoke up from where he sat on the van's floor, focusing on his faintly glowing lizard and a compass. His sharp ears caught Tohru's voice easily.

"…What?" Tohru frowned, wondering if his grasp of English was really as good as he thought. Jackie however suddenly remembered and slapped his forehead in annoyance at his own ineptitude.

"That's right!" he remembered, "Yu was Jade's real first name before she came to the States! I completely forgot!"

Tohru raised an eyebrow, surprised and confused by the revelation, "Jade wasn't her real name?"

Uncle shook his head, a frown on his wrinkled lips, "When she first arrive in shop, she told Uncle to call her Jade instead of Yu. Uncle thought nothing of it, young girl being fickle. Maybe change it to something like Mary or Crystal next! When Uncle told Jade's parents, they just think it an act of childhood rebellion and decided to humor change."

"I only found out when I was going over her transcripts when enrolling her," Jackie added, "Didn't give it much thought at the time."

Tohru was about to speak, but Uncle spoke up first cutting him off, "Hey! Driver! Uncle needs you to go left! No, other left! And stop stopping at red lights! Traffic laws not importaaaant!"

Jackie winced, understanding not for the first time why the old man didn't have a license.

"But, why the change?" Tohru frowned; still at odds with believing 'Jade' was a relatively new development in his young best friend's life and having never heard it until now. "It wasn't just being fickle, obviously, given tonight…"

"This is not the time to discuss this now," Uncle scolded his protégé, "We must concentraaaaate!"

But he turned to Jackie and raised an eyebrow in scrutiny, "But consider this, Nephew; has Jade ever once acted like she missed Hong Kong? Friends, family, anyyyyything?"

Jackie and Tohru paused to absorb that, before turning to one another. Their brows knit in unison, and coldness formed in the pit of their stomachs as they digested the old man's words. Disturbing and obvious details began to come to light in their mind.

But both were shaken out of their reverie by impressive dual smacks from Uncle. "Do not be distracteeed! First we must find Jade, we'll deal with everything else later!"

Rubbing their temples, both men nodded. Jade was all that mattered now. Anything else could wait.

XXX

Jade was unsure where she was or where she was going as she floated forward zipping chaotically down every dark alley that came into sight, hardly even paying attention to the passing scenery. She could feel it even now, the awful stinging and itching of Uncle's tracking spell irritating the flesh of her shoulder, the dress above stained and ruined.

She wanted to just yank the offending garment off, hopefully take some of the irritating potion with it. But even with her warped moral compass, she wouldn't be caught dead floating around in just her panties.

But that didn't hold a candle to the mind-numbing ache the tips of all the fingers were reporting to her brain at all times like a siren. The chi spell was just a tickle compared to THAT.

It had been her only option at the time unfortunately. She didn't have a plan when she'd rushed for the window and she was paying for it now. The best she could do was jam her fingers in, put all her focus into her levitation and prey it broke her fall.

Too her credit, it worked. She slowed eventually but the maneuver had cost her. Feeling even her toughened Oni flesh grate away slowly, like cheese, the sensation of her nails ripping away, left imbedded in the wall… She was an active kid, so this wasn't the first time she'd lost a nail. That didn't compare to losing all of them at once, though.

It could have been worse, admittedly. Had she been human she'd have just died.

But that was a cold comfort now, rushing around with no plan in sight, pressing her shredded fingertips under her arms, keeping the wind off them. With weird purplish blood soaking into her sides. If she'd been in less pain, and less stressed from this disaster of a night she'd have taken more of a note of that. But as it stood, it was just one more unimportant and screwed-up detail of her currently very screwed-up reality.

It was hard enough to bear the thought of Jackie, Uncle and Tohru being her enemies. She wanted them to be with her now, helping her, tending to her aches and making things alright. They were her family!

But they'd drawn a line in the sand and she was on the other side.

Jade still didn't think she hated them, not like she did Drew. How could she, after their history? Yeah, she'd changed, but that hadn't. She loved them; she never said that because it was way too Very Special Episode for her, but it was true and she knew they knew it.

Which made it hurt all the worse that they refused to understand her, or consider what she wanted. They thought if she was normal she'd be right there with them, and maybe they'd be right. But that her was gone, she didn't get a say in this. This was Jade's life now, this Jade.

'_Maybe, in time, they'd figure all that out themselves,_' Jade thought lowering to her feet. The street cold under her soles even despite her mild weather. '_But I'm all outta time._'

Jade looked over at the window in the nearby building, eyeing it distrustfully. He'd known it'd turn out just like this from the start. Practically told her so. He'd been just so smugly confident in it. The thought that she'd have to prove that red bastard right drove her crazy!

She walked up to the window on silent footfalls, her hands still clutched against her. She looked around, and spotted a loose chunk of concrete sticking out of the old and beaten sidewalk. She reached over, and wincing all the while, wrapped her fingers around it carefully minding the tips and yanked it free.

She held it using only her palms, and then whipped around and threw the chunk of concrete at the window. The results were immediate and satisfying, the catharsis of the action calming her slightly.

She reached over and carefully picked up a shard that was wide enough, holding it lightly so as to not cut herself with the edges. Her hands were bad enough as is.

Jade wasted no time, launching back off the street and forward to keep gaining distance on her pursuers. She half expected helicopters to fill the sky at any moment.

Reluctantly Jade glanced down at the shard as she flew, feeling a blockage in her throat. She felt disgusted at the idea that she'd need to come crawling back to the evil old man, tossing aside her pride. It was almost as bad as just giving herself up to Jackie and going back to being Y-

Wait. No. No it wasn't. At all.

'_It's just like ripping off a band-aid,_' she reassured herself, steeling her nerves. '_An annoying cocky band-aid with stupid eyebrows…_'

"Tarakudo!" she shouted, perhaps a bit too loud in her haste.

The result was immediate. The surface of the glass rippled, and once the ripples settled, appeared a familiar and vicious demonic red visage. Tarakudo's cold yellow eyes regarded her in vague amusement.

"You rang?" he practically purred, his outwardly curving tusks showing through his smirk.

"D-drop the attitude!" Jade hissed, stuttering on the pain of the wind from her flight irritating her fingertips. "It was hard enough c-coming to you in the first place, okay?! You're the one all sealed up 'cause of me so d-don't get cocky like you never got in over your big floating head!"

"Point," Tarakudo muttered, accepting her words with some bitterness. "But I see you're in some dire straits. Care to share?"

"You were w-watching anyways, right?" She mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"Of course, but you can only tell so much from the box seats," he responded back, his tone casual.

Jade glared and looked away, gritting her teeth before muttering, "I s-screwed up with my big vengeance thing, duh! Jackie and the others got there first, I got pegged with a tracking spell and messed my hands up getting away!"

She turned her red eyes back at the Oni King trying to not look like she was as pathetic as she felt, "I don't know what to do now and you said you'd help me, right?!"

There was a pause as Tarakudo just started at her, not smirking thankfully. But his brow was knit in thought. She was about to ask, worried, if he was planning to take back his offer in response to her monumental failure before he finally spoke.

"This is your show, Your Majesty," he finally stated, giving her a sense of relief despite herself. "What do you WANT me to do for you?"

Jade slowed down, as she regarded the Lord of the Shadowkhan in her hands. She wondered if this was some sort of devious trick. It absolutely was, she was sure, but deciding she couldn't hurt anything worse to ask.

"Can y-you remove Uncle's spell? Running like this, knowing they're on my tail, is driving me nuts!" Jade finally blurted.

Tarakudo raised his eyebrow and scrutinized her left shoulder; his hawk-like eyes seemed to pierce where they looked. After a few seconds her looked back at her and shook his head. "If it was Japanese sorcery then I'd have dispelled it before you finished asking me to remove it."

He gestured to the spell, curling his lip in disgust. "But that is Chinese Light Chi magic. Not my expertise. We don't have time for me to peel it apart."

"Argh!" Jade roared, "Than why did I even waste my time calling you?!"

"Because," Tarakudo stated calmly with an assuredness that sent a chill down her spine, "You know I'm the best and ONLY chance you have."

"And what chances do I have, huh?" Jade pressed, her eyes challenging the Oni King.

"Fewer than you'd have had if you agreed to follow me in the first place," Tarakudo answered back, bemused.

"Back then we'd have had any number of possibilities for me to help you build your power up, give you the knowledge you'd need to make your dreams come true, make you a true Oni General."

Jade winced, imagining not having gone through this terrible night. If he was telling the truth… it didn't matter, there was no way she could have ever trusted him when he first approached her. Nothing he could have said to convince her. What's done was done.

"And… now?" Jade asked, too stressed to maintain her challenging attitude. "What can I… WE do now?"

There was another pregnant pause as Tarakudo regarded her, she wondered if it was some sort of intimidation tactic. If it was, she was worried she was falling for it.

"I asked for your trust before," Tarakudo began, his tone calm but with a sinister edge. She swallowed nervously. "I told you if you gave me your trust I would give you greatness. A power the world would tremble to behold."

He paused so she could absorb his words, before speaking again, "I do have a plan, and it will require you to do everything I say or the consequences will be very very unpleasant. Can you do that for me, Jade?"

Jade stared for a moment, then slowly shut her eyes and fought back whatever equivalent of tears Oni had. She took a deep breath and then nodded once.

Tarakudo smiled a smile that showed ever curved fang in his mouth and Jade suddenly felt very small.

"Excellent. I'd say you won't regret it, but I believe in letting the product speak for itself. Now first, I have a very important question for you, Your Majesty."

"Y-yeah?" she managed weakly.

"Are you afraid of spiders?"

**C02-END**

**Author's Notes: I'm still the main editor of the story, so please forgive any grammatical slipups and enjoy. Things will only get more intense from here!**

**Look forward to it!**


	3. Parting of Ways

**Webwork**

**By **_**Trackula**_** and Co-written by **_**Eduard Kassel**_

C03 – Parting of Ways

"No! Do it over! This is kindergarten stuff you know. I told you to draw a circle, that's an oval! With that you'd teleport your braincase to Alaska," The Oni King admonished in frustration, projected besides his young charge in the same sliver of glass as before.

"But if that's what you're going for, by all means, go right ahead," he sighed.

"ARGH!" Jade growled, rubbing away the imperfect shape with an oily cloth. "It's not easy to draw a circle without a ruler or compass, y'know! And haven't I drawn enough shapes?! I didn't sign on for Arts and Crafts!"

Jade was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the middle of a decrepit, disrepaired old warehouse. Tarakudo had helped guide her to it, saying that in order to enact his 'brilliant plan' she'd need a lot of space to draw shapes for a complicated spell.

Jade already knew from more experience than she'd care to admit that spells didn't have a wide margin for error. But this was just excessive! She'd needed to re-draw every squiggle and line over and over until the old man let her move on. Jade wondered, not for the first time, if this was what Tohru went through during his training with Uncle.

At her new, temporary, boss' insistence she'd happily tossed her soiled dress aside when she'd first arrived. Thankfully, she was alone here. She'd made quite sure of that when thoroughly clearing the floor of broken crates, cans, sheets and all other sorts of detritus. Not to mention Tarakudo was a floating head, so she forced herself to not feel ashamed about wearing nothing but her Super-Moose panties.

Apparently this part of the plan involved writing out some huge spell diagram, both on the ground and walls, and on her body. That was why Tarakudo had ordered her to throw away her dress, skin contact was needed here. By now her bare blue skin and the floor were covered in nonsensical shapes and what looked like Japanese characters.

The exacting placement and shape of each stroke of her finger was beginning to drive her insane. The ingredients needed weren't helping her foul mood any, either.

"There were like six buckets of paint I had to toss out the door, I still don't see why we wouldn't have used those," she winced, finishing reapplying the circle in purplish blood with the shredded tip of her index finger as both the source of paint and the brush all in one.

"Because, you're an amateur, and we need every advantage we can get to make this right," Tarakudo repeated for perhaps the third time.

"Ideally we'd have specially consecrated ink and brushes for this sort of task, but luckily Oni blood is just as good, and we have plenty of that on hand," he smirked, making Jade roll her eyes.

"How well the marks conduct the flow of magic is important. Think of it like making an electrical circuit."

"YOU know about science?" Jade scoffed, "Mr. Magic Demon-face?"

"I know about a lot of things," he stated matter-of-factly. "Think of this as a lesson in magic, the first of many to come. For example, a master sorcerer writing these diagrams could do it with that common paint or even steak sauce, and still get the required result."

"Well excuse me for sucking," she pouted, finishing the circle. Tarakudo wasn't complaining or correcting, so she figured it was close enough this time. Didn't make her worry less that this was gonna send her lungs to Bermuda, or something.

"Consider this to be a bonding experience," the Oni King stated, looking over her work, "Now I know what I have to work with later. And be happy I'm here to make sure you don't become like those poor two-headed schmucks. I will not allow any of THAT nonsense in my ranks!"

"Two… headed?" she asked, swallowing down her unease.

"Yes, you'd be surprised how many creatures of myth are the results of screwed up spells here and there. But we have standards in the Shadowkhan Forces, remember that."

"Whatever," Jade muttered; carefully adding what to her eyes looked like pointless squiggles across her exposed belly branching from a Taijitu drawn over her navel. "Magic doesn't make any sense, anyways."

"Now don't start with that," Tarakudo scoffed, carefully observing her application and correcting her as she went. "This annoying Age of Reason has created many popular misconceptions about the Old Sciences. Magic has very strict and stringent rules, I'll have you know. It's all very logical once you've got it down."

"Yeah right," she laughed mirthlessly, "My future self proved THAT is bunk."

"Your… what?" Tarakudo blinked, quirking his eyebrow uncomprehendingly.

"Oh, the Great and Mighty All-seeing Oni King didn't know about that, huh? Ha!" Jade grinned, taking more pleasure than she should in the minute victory.

"Yup, she went back in time, was really awesome by the way, and then stopped some future thing. But left her badguy for US to deal with and he was sealed away awhile ago in the last big battle."

The young Oni went back to drawing with a flippant shrug, "It's part of why I was so mad lately. I didn't think I could grow into her if half the stuff she DOES I prevented before I even get there… She never even seemed to remember BEING me. Time travel is just really stupid, apparently..."

Jade blinked when she noticed the dead silence, and then looked over at the glass. Tarakudo was staring blankly at her, his mouth parted in confusion.

"But…" he began, knotting his brow in thought, "That can't…"

Jade pressed her lips in worry, seeing the Oni King at a loss for words for perhaps the first time not involving an onion. "Something… wrong, Big Red?"

There was a pause, but Tarakudo just sighed and shook his head, but looking clearly troubled by SOMETHING. "It's… nothing. We can waste all the time we want when this spell is complete. That obscuring spell I walked you through will only distract the Chi Wizard for so long. Another example of magic making perfect sense, by the way…"

"Whatever, you still haven't told me how this works or what the plan is after," Jade pointed out accusingly, but remained focused on her task.

The Lord of Shadowkhan rolled his eyes, "If this spell doesn't work, my dear, there IS no plan. So let's just put our head in the game."

"Awww…" she pouted in a completely un-Oni-like fashion.

"But if you MUST know," he sighed, "This is a sealing spell. A self-sealing spell, in fact. It's complicated but suffices to say, if it WORKS your body will be safeguarded; we'll have a lot more time to work on your development, and…"

"And…?" Jade pressed on, leaning in close towards the glass.

"Let's… just focus on the task at hand. That mark is backwards, by the way."

Jade slapped her forehead and gave a deep sigh.

XXX

Jackie waited tensely, leaning forward and staring through the van's windshield at the warehouse looming grimly above them. Uncle's spell made it very clear, Jade was inside and she wasn't moving.

Captain Black's voice came over the radio, his tone focused and grim, "We have confirmation? The Target is in the building?"

"JADE is in the building," Jacke found himself snap, and then winced. "I mean-"

"It's okay, Jackie," Black cut off, his voice pensive. "I get it, but this is an S13 operation and I need to handle it my way. It doesn't mean I don't have Jade's safety as my number one priority."

"I understand, Captain," Jackie sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm just worn a bit thin right now."

"Jackie, I promise you," Black stated, his 'Head of Section 13' voice coming through clearly.

"My men have been instructed that Jade Chan is to be taken into custody unharmed, and I will be directly supervising. She's nowhere near Daolon Wong or Drago's weight class. We'll get her back soon. Don't wanna risk that tracking spell wearing off."

"Thank you," Jackie muttered feeling slightly better from his old friend's reassurances. He then looked over to check on Uncle and Tohru.

Uncle was hunched over some old Chi Spell scroll, glaring at the characters and checking back with the blowfish and lizard in his hands, apparently dissatisfied. Tohru was sitting back, knees to his chest in the cramped space. He looked sick, equal parts his motion sickness and the thought of whatever could be waiting for them in that warehouse. Particularly what state poor Jade was in.

Jade had stopped here for a reason, Jackie was sure. Was she desperate and making a last stand, or did she have some trick waiting for them all? Letting Black get his troops into place was nerve-wracking. Was it normally supposed to take this long?

"Something is wrong…" Uncle muttered, breaking his silence for the first time since they'd begun this chase.

"What is it, Sensei?" Tohru asked, leaning forward towards the old man.

"When my tracking spell started going all over map," Uncle explained without looking up, "there is noooo way that could be random act of celestial interference! Uncle checked and double checked…"

Tohru's brow furrowed, "You don't think Jade could have dampened the trace all on her own, do you?"

Tohru was worried when his question didn't earn him a quick smack and Uncle continued checking through his notes. "Of course not! Spell is simple, but only someone with firm understanding of Chi Magic could interfere! Jade has nooooo such understanding!"

"Could this be knowledge her Dark Chi is giving her?" Jackie interjected. Unlike Tohru, he earned himself that smack.

Uncle looked up and began shoving his various mystical paraphernalia back in the seemingly depthless pockets of his vest, "Of course noooot! The Dark Chi plays on Jade's impulses and desires, but nothing there is not Jade! Niece is no smarter now than yesterdaaay!"

"You think someone is helping her," Tohru murmured, arms crossed in thought.

Uncle nodded, his lips pursed into a deep frown. "I think there are eeeevil forces at work bigger than we can see, we must-"

Tohru lurched forward suddenly, holding his sides and shuddering, "Sensei, something is happening in that warehouse! I feel-"

"Aiyah! The willies!" Uncle realized with a start.

"No time to waste in cramped van!" Uncle declared, slamming the door open and running out. "Jackieee, Tohruuuu, we must move quicklyyyy!"

"Uncle wait, Captain Black didn't give the signal yet-" Jackie started but the old man quickly disappeared from sight.

Jackie and Tohru exchanged a brief look or irritation, but then the archeologist snatched a walkie-talkie and shouted into it as he and Tohru ran after the fleet footed curmudgeon, "Captain Black, something's happening, we need to move now!"

"Wait, but we're not-" Black began, caught off guard by the sudden rush of activity from his side.

"No time!" Jackie shouted back as he and Tohru followed Uncle's distant form, "We have to move NOW!"

XXX

When Jackie and Tohru finally reached Uncle, the old man had his fist around the door knob of the warehouse side entrance. His puffer-fish was firmly in his left hand and his ear was pressed to the door, knitted in intense thought. Jackie and Tohru joined him at either side of the door.

"What's happening, Sensei?" Tohru asked down at Uncle while reaching into a tote bag over his shoulders and withdrawing a red vial. Jackie had seen Tohru and Uncle mixing up the stun potions earlier. Tohru had been reluctant to use such things on his young friend, but Jade's actions in the apartment had apparently hardened the big man's resolve.

"Uncle cannot tell, but we have nooooo more time to waste!" the old man declared, looking both his apprentice and nephew in the eye.

"Jade is somehow casting a spell; that much is clear! Either she is desperately casting something she does NOT understand, or she knows what she does somehow and it will be set against uuuus! Uncle does NOT know which is worse!" Uncle stated, his voice dire.

"So we must burst in and stop her, no talking, just actiooooon!" he stated with no room for objections. He looked over at Tohru accusingly, clearly referring to how the ex-crook held back during their earlier encounter. The ex-criminal forced himself not to wince and look away from the critical gaze of his mentor.

After a moment Jackie and Tohru exchanged glances, but while neither liked the thought both found themselves nodding.

"Good, now ready yourselves!" Uncle nodded back, then turned to the door and muttered, "One… two…"

On three the door was yanked open and the three burst in, Uncle in front with his blowfish drawn, Jackie with his fists up and ready to spring, and Tohru ducking under the door frame with a fistful of stun tonics in his grasp.

All three acting as one looked into the interior and gasped in sudden horror.

The air inside was dark, not just from lack of light, natural or otherwise, but from a thick black swirling miasma spinning through the room. The wind whipped loudly, pulling at their hair and clothing, forcing Jackie to shift his center of balance. The sound was overwhelming, echoing through the metal interior as if trying to burst free.

Jackie could see lights like black lighting burst and crackle, arcing chaotically, some near the center reaching as far as the ceiling, searing great black scars where they hit. Jackie could smell something like ozone which he attributed to the bolts.

Jackie felt tears in his eyes as he tried to pierce the dark windy veil and search desperately for his niece. He began to push forward, blocking his eyes with his forearms as he struggled step by step through the maelstrom. He could vaguely sense the figures of Uncle and Tohru at his side moving along with him.

It seemed the further in they went the easier it became to see, or perhaps their eyes were simply adjusting. But either way, the sight before them took the trio's breath away.

There across the floor was a series of geometric shapes, forming an intricate almost beautiful pattern branching to every corner of the room. The designs were framed and filled with small characters Jackie recognized as kanji and other characters he'd never seen before. That had possibly not been seen in centuries.

Each brushstroke was in messy purple-red fluid soaking into the concrete floor, a color Jackie had seared into his memories. The same color as the awful bloody gashes trailing down Drew's building, left behind by his niece. He blocked out the implication as best he could so as not to lose his concentration.

Each bloody stroke seemed to pulse and swell like veins, crackling and throbbing, popping and snapping. It was from here that the arcs or energy originated. They cascaded and jumped from shape to shape like lighting in a bottle, building until reaching the towering bolts that scored the ceiling relentlessly.

But as they followed the patterns and the crackling energy, they saw the overall design naturally drew the eyes to a point in the center, towards the calm in the middle of this Dark Chi hurricane.

That was where they found Jade.

She stood there in the center, looking down at herself, her expression was hidden by her wild hair. She was almost naked, Jackie realized, and covered with similar glowing symbols as were on the floor, from her cheeks down to her feet.

As they got closer, Jackie thought he saw something like… hairs. Or strands rather. Oily black strands in greater and greater number seemed to rise out of the squirming shadows around his niece and latched onto her small body tightly. Their number increased as did their speed until Jackie could no longer see her legs, wrapped completely in the shining shadow strands.

"JADE" Jacke tried to yell, but his voice was gone, carried away completely by the wind. He may as well have been mute. He tried to run, but the closer he was towards Jade, the worse the wind became. It was all he could do to move forward steadily while maintaining his footing and avoiding stepping on any of the energized symbols dancing on either side of him.

Turning desperately towards Uncle and Tohru, he saw they had shaken off their shock at the sights surrounding them and had gotten to work.

Uncle was blasting the symbols around them with his blowfish, his lips blurred in motion. Jackie couldn't hear a word of it, but knew it was likely as powerful a chant as the old man knew. He tried not to see the distress in his Uncle's eyes as he worked to interrupt the dark spell.

Tohru was doing the same, chanting while smashing potions on the floor over the pulsing shapes. In desperation the large wizard reached into his pocket and brought out the dried octopus tentacle he'd been gifted with by Uncle. He focused his spells from it towards the massive spell-grid surrounding them, sweat pouring down his temples.

Jackie turned away, praying that they manage something and cursing himself for his inability to contribute. All he could do was resume his press forward towards his niece.

By now Jade was already covered up to her shoulders in the strands. The strands got so thick the further down they went that Jackie could no longer make out his niece's shape below the shoulders. The bottom was now anchored tightly to the ground, and Jackie could see the symbols were now beginning to move. The stretched and flowed across the floor towards Jade. Then they began climbing steadily up the surface of the strands, glowing with a terrible unnatural light.

Suddenly Jackie felt a terrible pain strike his leg, and arc up through every nerve in his body. His thoughts were blocked out by a wave of white hot agony, and he was thrown forwards. He felt himself strike a barrier, seemingly made from solid air and his ears painfully popped. A heavy bass "WUMF" hit his ears, deep enough that he felt it in his teeth. Then he finally belly flopped down onto the concrete.

At first, he looked down reflexively and saw the jeans over his right calf were burned away and the skin beneath was brown and sizzled, he could smell it, a salty charred stink. Confusion gave way to realization that in his haste he'd stepped on one of the crackling symbols and been struck by the demonic lightning.

Jackie cursed himself for the error, but suddenly realized he could no longer feel worse than a stiff breeze, and he could hear his own pained breathing. The bolt had thrown him past the wind barrier surrounding Jade, he was must have landed in the eye of the storm!

He looked up, and his hoped died.

Only Jade's face was free, the strands slowly consuming the last of her away. He could see the symbols from the floor crawling ever higher and higher up. She looked… content, oddly satisfied with her eyes half-lidded and a small smile playing across her nearly-black lips.

Jackie found his words were gone and he felt weak, barely managing to sit up. All this stress and the blast had lead to his body finally betraying him. All he could do was look up at his niece pleadingly.

Slowly, Jade turned her solid red gaze and looked down towards Jackie, her soft smile broadening. The two looked into one another's eyes, and time seemed to slow around them.

"Later, Jackie."

Jade's face disappeared beneath the strands, and with a sudden screaming rush, the symbols finished their migration over the mass of threads. The surface seemed to swell and pulsate, as if a giant black heart. The lights of the symbols covering it would swell and fade in time with the pulsing.

Thick masses of blackness reached up and snagged the ceiling dragging the mass of shadow-thread, a cocoon Jackie realized, up so it was suspended in the middle of the room, anchored above and below.

Jackie slouched forward, tears burning at the corners of his eyes. He hardly noticed Uncle and Tohru reach his sides. Their shoulders were slumped in a feeling Jackie could easily relate to; complete and utter defeat. He didn't even notice the stream of armed Section 13 agents bursting in from every entrance around them.

Tohru could only look away, covering his face with a massive hand.

Uncle reached out and almost touched the mass in front of them, but quickly pulled his hand away and hissed. Captain Black stepped in from beyond Jackie's exhausted periphery, looking up at the mass in shock and revulsion.

"What… what IS that?" he blurted, stepping cautiously back.

Uncle clenched a trembling fist and looked towards the floor, his eyes tightly shut. Then he whispered, "Uncle does not know."

Jackie vaguely noted the old man was afraid, before the world blurred and darkness claimed him.

XXX

There was the sensation of falling, no bottom in sight. There was only the dark tunnel all around her, rushing past her on all sides, seemingly forever. She couldn't remember how she got here, how long she'd been here, or even where she came from.

All she knew was the now.

But the now was temporary as it ever was and soon she felt an end to this tunnel, rushing up to meet her and smash her to pieces. A great gray mass, featureless and terrible in its apathy.

She hadn't even time to scream as it rose up soundless towards her and then-

Jade shot up, breathing hard. Her body was alight with adrenaline from the strange dream waking her quickly. She knew falling dreams were pretty normal, but she'd never dreamed of falling herself. Heights didn't bother her in the least.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, almost calling for Jackie before the memories of the last twenty-four hours came to her.

With a gasp, she shot to her feet and looked around, wondering excitedly if the spell worked. The sight that greeted her, though, was nothing to celebrate.

She was surrounded on all sides by tall, ominous black trees enclosing her like monoliths. A thick chalk white mist made seeing the loose dirt and dry grass she felt beneath her toes almost impossible. The sky was an unnatural overcast gray, no stars or cloud or moon in sight.

She heard a familiar voice speak up right beside her ear, breaking the unnatural silence and giving her a start.

"Welcome to The Emptiness, Your Highness."

**C03-END**

**Author's Notes: As always, I'm the main editor of the story, so please forgive any grammatical blunders on my part.**

**Sorry this chapter is so short compared to the last two, but it was unavoidable. The next two chapters more than make up for it in length and content, I assure you.**

**Big things are in store for poor Jade, very soon. Look forward to it!**


	4. Dark Web, Dark Deal

**Webwork**

**By **_**Trackula**_** and Co-written by **_**Eduard Kassel**_

C04 – Dark Web, Dark Deal

"The… Emptiness?" Jade asked skeptically, looking around this strange gray landscape.

"Indeed, this is a sanctuary of sorts," Tarakudo explained with his usual air of smugness. "Or a prison."

Jade blinked and looked around apprehensively at Tarakudo's words. Sanctuary, prison, either way there should be other stuff in here with her than black trees and a surplus on fog. Possibly very "Bad Day" stuff.

'_What did the Old Man ACTUALLY sign me up for_,' she thought worriedly.

"What do you mean by 'sanctuary' or 'prison', Bright eyes?" Jade asked, turning to the giant Oni face and crossing her arms over her bare chest. She tried not to think about how she was naked as the day she was born, her panties having been shredded thread by thread when the cocoon came over her. She'd deal with that nonsense AFTER getting some answers.

She blinked than added, "And how the heck are you even HERE? I thought I needed reflections to talk to you."

The Shadowkhan Lord rolled his eyes at his young charge,"Let's go with your easier second question first; I'm here because sealed though I may be, the laws of physics work differently in this realm. Through one of my kind, you, I can project myself. But only temporarily, it requires a lot of energy and I'm not made of the stuff."

Jade thought about that and grinned, "So, like, if the laws of physics are different here… does that mean I can fly and shoot lighting out of my eyes and stuff?"

Tarakudo just blinked when she tried to hover higher than was her natural limit but stopping short as always. "I mean… nevermind. This gets into inter-dimensional subspace theory that would just turn your brain into a pretzel. You get nothing here you didn't have before."

"Awwww…" Jade pouted, landing back on the ground and sitting down in a huff, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.

'_So far this other world kind of sucks_,' she thought bitterly, '_no new powers, no new CLOTHES, and worst of all; my hands are still hamburger meat! How does that even work if this isn't my real body?!_'

"As for what I meant about this place, prepare for something of a history lesson, Young Grasshopper," Tarakudo began, ignoring Jade's groan.

"Centuries ago on Earth, specifically in my homeland, Japan, Yōkai and various Yōma were in dire straits."

"Yōkai and Yōma?" Jade interjected, quirking an right eyebrow in confusion.

"Japanese creatures and magical beings," Tarakudo explained with a sigh, sensing his task at developing this young Oni growing by the minute. "Simply put; what you are now."

Ignoring Jade's look of surprise, The Oni King continued on, "As human civilization spread and became more structured, they pushed these beings from their homes. It's a rather cliché tale, but for a reason. It was then that those who felt most threatened banded together."

"They wanted to fight the humans?" Jade interrupted, earning a scornful laugh from Tarakudo.

"HA! Those cowards? No, they somehow found this dimension and all ran in with their tails between their legs. The ones who had tails, anyways… They were legion; a legion of short-sighted desperate fools."

"What do you mean?" Jade asked, confused but also happy that this was nowhere NEAR as boring as history class in her school or one of Jackie's lectures.

"You know about The Balance," Tarakudo scoffed, "What do you think would happen to a world of nothing but the supernatural without the natural to keep it balanced?"

"Uh…" Jade muttered in thought, "Obviously… bad stuff?"

"You were a C-Average student, weren't you," Tarakudo drawled.

"Yes, 'bad stuff'. The fools had no structure in the Mortal Plane, so they certainly didn't have one here where resources were scarce and there were no humans to prey on. Their laughable excuse for a society collapsed almost instantly, ruin and decay set in, dozens of Yōkai went extinct as the strong were forced to prey on the weak… Basically now it's Beyond Thunderdome."

Jade slapped her forehead, "Now I know you're just doing that on purpose! You're gonna tell me one of these days how an Oni Lord sealed away for forever is so up to date on the modern world! This is just dumb!"

"Juuuuust keep telling yourself that," Tarakudo smirked.

"Argh… Whatever! You gonna show me how I get all powerful now, or something?"

"How you… what?" Tarakudo blinked.

"Isn't that why we're here?" she asked, leaning forwards, ticking off points with her injured fingers. "You buy me time, I get sent here, become super awesome, than I go back and kick butt?"

Knitting his brow, Tarakudo thought about how to put this gently, "You becoming… urgh… 'super awesome' isn't going to be as easy as you seem to think. First we need to find an… old friend of mine. If all goes well with her, SHE will handle your training."

"Wait a minute," Jade cut off, "Just what do you mean by 'training'?"

"Nevermind that," Tarakudo cut off, his image beginning to lose its color. "We spent too long talking, so I need to get this all out quickly."

He hastily floated over and angled down, "Look here. See these spiders?"

Jade swallowed back her complaint and quickly crawled over minding her hands; looking at the patch of mist Tarakudo was referring to. The mist seemed thinner here, and if she squinted she could see a tiny row of black shapes moving in unison like army ants.

The Young Oni blinked in surprise, that was A LOT of spiders. Since when did they act in unison like this? She knew they tended to be pretty solitary animals, certainly not the type to be on the march en masse.

"Yeah…" Jade asked, her red eyes following the steady stream of arachnids. "Hey, what are normal bugs doing in a place like-"

"Follow those spiders, their trail should be very clear," Tarakudo explained cutting her off. "If you stick to the trail, you should have no problems. This whole territory should be safe enough for you IF you remain on this trail."

He leaned in so his owl-like eyes were right in front of Jade's. "In case that wasn't clear enough, let me spell it out for you; do NOT leave this trail. This isn't like home; you don't have Uncle Jackie to pull your bum out of the fire if worst comes to worst. Nothing here, NOTHING, is your friend. Every shadow is out to get you."

"I don't NEED anyone to pull my… bum… or anything out of anything!" Jade shouted back, standing up, and placing her hands on her hips.

"I warned you," Tarakudo sighed, "It's up to you to heed that warning, so I hope you're smarter than I think you are."

"Hey-!"

"Well, it's time for me to take a breather," the Oni King smirked, fading more and more.

"Hey wait!" Jade shouted, looking down at herself and gesturing to her whole body. "What about clothes?! I can't walk all over this place completely starkers!"

"I'm bare from the neck down and you don't see me complaining," Tarakudo pointed out with a grin.

Jade roared and clawed impotently at the air in frustration, "Argh, I will maul you to pieces, Old Man!"

"THAT'S the spirit," he laughed, "I'll be back when you get to your destination. Don't worry, so long as you don't get lost, my old friend WILL find you."

With those ominous words, the Oni King faded completely from sight.

Jade sighed and looked around, trying not to think about being completely exposed. The spider trail was moving forward at the same pace as always, and she was in a magical land of rogue Japanese monsters that humans had probably never before set foot in, loaded with adventure and excitement.

She grinned, '_like HELL am I gonna stick to some dumb trail._'

XXX

'I _don't know what I expected out of a place called The Emptiness_,' Jade grumbled, '_But it wasn't something so… empty._'

With no sun and no stars it was nearly impossible to judge the passage of time, but it felt like she'd been wandering this endless forest for hours. Nothing but mist, dry grass, loose soil, and a disturbingly uniform array of thin black trees.

'_Though the Demon Portal realm wasn't much better_,' she admitted. '_Just floating rocks all over the place, and weird yellow sky. But at least that was exciting in the way of trying to not to get pulled limb from limb by seven angry Demon Sorcerers who all had a grudge against little ol' me._'

'_But that place literally WAS a prison for a bunch of monumental creeps, so I didn't really expect the inside to look like Moose World._'

Jade continued to float on, her eyes trying to pierce the veil of mist for anything, anything at all, that would break the monotony.

'_This place though, Red Cheeks said uh… Yogurt? Whatever, something like that, all ran here on purpose! Is Middle Earth too much for a young demon girl to ask for!?_' she internally griped, the uniformity of it all weighing on her already overabundant youthful impatience.

'_But this would almost, ALMOST, be okay_,' she admitted, as she continued to float on aimlessly. '_If I wasn't completely freaking NAKED!_'

That fact especially was driving Jade out of her gourd. She was out in the middle of nowhere in another dimension without a stitch to her name. When she'd decided to set out, she'd been glad for the mist since it at least obscured some parts she wouldn't want strangers to be able to scope out.

But then Tarakudo's warning had come back to her about not trusting the shadows and this place being filled with monsters. Who knew what was down there with her and out of sight? There could be creatures down on the ground literally made of teeth! And while the Young Chan was sure she could take them, she was the girl who blew Shendu to pieces after all, she didn't really WANT to get into a fight while lacking anything even resembling clothing.

Eventually practicality won out over decency and she decided to float over the veil of mist that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. If this place was like a planet, she imagined from above it probably looked like a big boring gray ball.

'_This isn't a place for adventure_,' Jade grumbled, running her hands through her extra-spikey hair. '_This is a place where adventure goes to die._'

'_Maybe Big Red was wrong_,' she wondered looking up at the empty sky, '_Maybe ALL the monsters are extinct now, and he's just behind on the news. Even that "old friend" probably… Would serve the know-it-all right to be wrong about something so major._'

'_Maybe I shoulda LET Uncle Jackie catch me_,' she wondered, descending to what-ifs in her increasing boredom. '_Then he'd take me to Section 13, I could have escaped 'cause I'm the best, and then gone for Chuckles' mask. Then I'd at least be- huh?_'

Jade blinked and saw something… something that seemed almost jarring to be among this scenery. Something with actual color!

The Young Oni narrowed her eyes, wondering if in her desperation they were playing tricks on her. But the color didn't fade. If anything it grew bolder.

Jade quickly flew towards it, the color taking on form as she approached. Orange, and something blue-ish underneath. That shade of orange was looking very familiar, actually. She slowed as she approached; the source of the color now very apparent.

It was clothes. They were hanging from one of the gnarled claw-like branches of one of the trees from an actual honest-to-God clothes-hanger. Not just clothes, either. These were JADE'S clothes. Her short-sleeved orange hoodie, her gray long-sleeved undershirt, her cutoff jeans.

Her favorite outfit was here, hanging plain as day, in an alternate demon dimension.

'_Well that's clearly a trap_,' Jade decided, nodding to herself in pleasure at her own impressive deductive skills.

However, this was the first interesting thing to happen to her in some time, which endeared her to the obvious ploy somewhat. Not to mention… trap or not, she really wanted those clothes.

Jade looked closely at the Jade-Bait, she could see the stitching even from this distance. They looked real enough. She lowered herself to the ground and felt along the surface without taking her eyes off the garments. She found what she was looking for and picked up a tiny pebble. Eyeing the clothes, she measured the distance and tossed the pebble in their direction.

She practically beamed when the pebble struck the cloth and bounced back, her fanged grin almost reaching her ears. '_Okay, that's a trap worth springing. I'm about to say sayonara to Nudist Jade!_'

She made a pair of fists and raised them up; fully aware that approaching the clothes would result in something unpleasant. But after what she'd been through in the relatively short time since she came to the States, she was confidant she could take anything.

Jade floated up to the clothes, her eyes searching left and right but seeing nothing. She circled the clothes completely, but still saw nothing. Even still, she tensed as she reached out to touch them.

The blow came from the left, something light and hard striking at her side and sending her crashing to the misty ground. Her reflexes acted on instinct and she struck the back of her fist against the assailant, feeling something like coarse fur for a moment as well as hearing a high-pitched yelp.

She quickly got to her feet and backed away, her eyes narrowed and locked onto where her opponent landed.

"You should know better than to wander around the woods alone, Jade," a familiar lightly-accented voice admonished her as a tall fit figure stood up in the mist where the enemy landed.

Jade growled and held up her fists, ready to strike. "I know you aren't really him, so cut it out! This is just kids stuff!"

"Well," Jackie shrugged, placing his hands on his hips. "If I'm not really him, than it stands to reason that your enemy isn't really here, doesn't it?"

Jade blinked, a question on her lips. But she was cut off when something struck her from behind and opposite her fake uncle, sending her back to the earth. She cried out as sharp claws raked down her bare back and felt the hot breath of this predator behind her ear.

With desperate speed she reached around, aiming for the source of the breath. Grabbing what felt like a muzzle, she gripped hard to keep it from sinking its teeth in. The creature gave a yelp as she floated backwards fast as she could into the nearest tree, crushing her enemy against it.

She pulled back and turned quickly bringing her fist around to its midsection. In satisfaction she heard something pop and then another yelp, louder and more desperate.

The creature wriggled away from her and bounded off quickly as it could in a weak hobbled stride. Jade finally got a clear look at the thing that had tried to make her lunch.

It looked like a large fox, emaciated and thin. Perhaps it was a bright red once, but its fur had grayed and was missing in sickly patches. Its left eye was milk white with obvious blindness, while its right was red and glaring at her hatefully. Seven scraggly tails trailed out behind it, all as gray and ratty as the rest of it. Once it was probably a majestic wonder, now though…

"Curse you, girl," the fox wheezed out hatefully, its voice old and strangely androgynous. "First time in eternity there is fresh meat, sweet and soft, juicy and young. In prime, would have felled you, Shadowkhan bitch! Felled you and eaten your liver first!"

"Get outta here, Flea-bait, before I turn you into a shawl!" Jade shouted, beginning to float towards the awful beast in a threat.

It howled and ran into the mist, shouting after Jade,"Would have made me young again, strong again, to eat a Shadowkhan! I curse you, Shadowkhan pup! Let other's eat you while you scream!"

Jade reached back and gingerly touched the gouges in her back left by the old fox monster's claws. They didn't seem deep but they stung all the same, though not as bad as her fingertips did. Some of the tips had split open again when she'd punched that awful beast and were dripping purple blood down her wrist.

But that could wait, because much to her delight those clothes were still hanging from the tree looking fresh as a daisy. She eagerly reached out and grasped the clothes by the hanger, lifting it off the branch, already imagining wrapping herself in them.

Then she watched as the clothes and the hanger crumbled away to nothing in her hands like dead leaves.

She flopped bonelessly to the misty floor, spread out and looking up at the sky in a depressed daze. Not even caring that the grass floor stung her cuts and fighting the urge to have herself a good cry.

'_This is the Worst. Adventure. Ever_,' Jade declared to herself, certain of its universal truth with every fiber of her being.

She laid her head to the left and then paused, staring at the ground in front of her. Another long line of spiders was steadily marching right past her nose in the same direction as the last convoy of arachnids she'd earlier ignored.

Jade sighed and rubbed her eyes, '_I hate when the universe isn't subtle_.'

She stood up, floating back into the air and dusting herself off. She looked down at the spiders beneath her and mentally readied herself to join them in their journey.

'_If all this place has to offer is boring forests and lame illusions from even lamer monsters, I may as well just meet this lady_,' Jade decided grudgingly.

'_At the very least, she should have some clothes_.'

XXX

Jade grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes as she strained her arm upwards, feeling around the rocks above her. Finding what felt like a decent handhold and happy she wouldn't need to jam her poor abused fingers into solid rock for a makeshift one; she began to put her weight on it.

The stone crumbled under her grasp like old cheese and she nearly lost her grip, cursing up a storm. Then she took a deep breath, trying to calm down and tried again.

'_This is the second time tonight, or… is it the next day? Whatever, not long ago, that I had to climb up a damn sheer plane like a stupid monkey!_'

She moved her foot into a sturdy divot and began to push herself up. '_And I know ALL about climbing like a monkey, I WAS one! Hell, this is worse than earlier, at least I had clothes back then!_'

The Young Oni grumbled, slowly and steadily moving up handhold by handhold, foothold by foothold. She turned and shouted to the dull gray heavens, "AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, I WILL NEVER CLIMB LIKE A MONKEY AGAIN!"

Her shout was answered by deep roar in the distance, prompting her to quickly pick up the pace on her ascent with a nervous squeak.

It had been the most disheartening thing in a long series of particularly disheartening things when that trail of spiders had made their way towards a mountain that had been nearly indistinguishable in the omnipresent mists. The line of them converged with possibly a dozen others along the way and the massive arachnid convoy had met the dagger-like mountain and began climbing right up.

Jade had looked around, hoping they were just being brainless bugs and taking the straight and stupid path, rather than just going around it. But it seemed like they weren't coming back down the other side. Wherever they were heading, it was straight up.

She bit back a sob and began gingerly gripping the stones with her wounded fingers, slowly hauling herself up. Her bare toes helped her feel out footholds which were thankfully numerous. But she'd been dressed and uninjured before with Drew's much much shorter apartment building. Here her fingers were cracked and raw, not to mention lacking fingernails.

The rough and aged stone in front of her would poke and scrape at her bare skin and the open air irritated the scratches along her back. There was no wind, thankfully. But the fresh wounds from her tussle with the old fox continued to cry out from the sensation of her shoulder blades poking them from underneath as she went about the bitter work.

'_First Drew spreads those photos around, then I turn into a demon, THEN I make a stupid mistake trying to get revenge and end up enchanted, torn up, and on the run, then I make a deal with a LITERAL Devil, or something close, then I go to this crappy dimension, then I get mauled by wildlife, and now here I am, clinging for dear life beside a bunch of bugs trying to get who-knows-where to meet who-knows-what_,' Jade mentally recounted, as she climbed up on autopilot.

'_I thing this easily qualifies as the worst day of my life_,' she finally decided, wincing as a pointy rock scrapped along her right hip as she lifted herself. '_Definitely the worst_.'

'_All these spiders though_,' she wondered, forcing herself to think on another topic entirely. '_What's up with those…?_'

Jade eyed them discerningly as she continued to climb. Finally decided after some consideration; '_the lady up top has gotta be a spider monster. Why else would all these little creeps be taking this pilgrimage to her place?_'

'_I suppose she could be the opposite_,' Jade reasoned to herself, grateful for having come up with a suitably distracting topic from this awful task. '_Some kinda lizard monster that attracts spiders like a Pied Piper, then eats 'em? Either or…_'

The inability to judge the flow of time here was beginning to weight on her. She'd definitely been awake for longer than was healthy… maybe. Who knew what an Oni needed? She'd need to ask Tarakudork about little details like that. Not that she wanted to see the big lying jerk again anytime in the near… ever.

'_Lying by omission is still lying_,' she pouted, ascending ever higher at a tired snail's pace. '_I know what he'd say if I call him on it too… "You should have considered your questions more carefully, Your Majesty" or something condescending like that…_'

'_Dammit!_' she cursed, '_that IS what he'd say! I've got the big jerk stuck in my hea_-'

Her thoughts were cut off, when she reached up, and found nothing but empty space. She looked up and saw she seemed to have reached some sort of edge her spidery companions were disappearing over.

With a happy yelp of excitement and completely dismissing any possible danger above, Jade grabbed the edges and hoisted her way up. She eagerly stumbled to her feet above the jutting section of cliff, ecstatic to have finally reached her destination.

She stood, savoring the feeling of no longer clinging for dear life on the side of some godforsaken rock. Taking a deep breath of self satisfaction, she wiped the grit off herself and looked around, seeing where the convoy of spiders had led her.

From up here she could see other mountains far in the distance in every direction. There were structures too, looking like old ruined castles. Further still she could see what looked like a lake of dark water, rivers branching off from all sides like cancerous veins. It wasn't just an limitess expanse of black forest consuming everything in sight.

Somehow that fact lifted her spirits a bit more. It was a relief that the forest wasn't without end like it seemed when she was trapped there for so long.

Jade turned and looked back at the damnable mountain, crossing her arms. As much as it felt like it coming up, this was nowhere near the very top peak. It was more like an alcove set in around the middle leading to a deep dark and definitely unwelcoming cave.

The cave entrance seemed unnatural, like it's been a perfect square opening once, hundreds of years ago maybe. But now it was crumbled and broken away. She thought she could see what looked like the vaguest remnants of paint along the edges. Its color, if paint was truly what she was seeing, was indeterminate. Gone with the ages.

Like everything else, Jade figured, this entryway may have once been a wondrous sight. Now it seemed just an ugly crack leading to some dark crypt. But the spiders were spilling through the door without pause, en masse. This was clearly where Tarakudo wanted her to be.

'_Thanks Boss_,' she wrinkled her nose as she thought about joining them. '_People who work for you lead such charmed lives. Thanks for the opportunity._'

Jade readied herself and sighed, lifting off the ground so as not to step on anything before floating cautiously inside. As she crossed the threshold she half expected a barrier to slam shut behind her as she passed. Somehow, the fact that it didn't and she could leave at seemingly any time was even more threatening.

'_Calm down you dork_,' Jade admonished herself as she floated on in, '_This is an ancient creepy dungeon adventure! We like adventure! It's exciting! It's fun! Remember fun, Jade?_'

She laughed despite herself at how ridiculous it was to force her enthusiasm like this. Though that thought was admittedly better than focusing on the dark corridor of ancient stone around her. To her surprise, her eyes seemed to adjust to the darkness with disturbing ease. She could make out everything, from the spiders crawling beneath her to the small cracks and fissures in the walls around her.

'_About time another perk came up_,' Jade thought as she went on down, '_It's not much but I'll take it…_'

Jade was beginning to be able to hear her own heartbeat as the noise from the outside died away. The sound of her breathing was amplified along the walls. She tried to breathe softer, but it seemed the walls were set on taking every minute sound within and send it echoing around her.

The deeper she went, the more she became aware of the noises her body made just to live, it was the only sound to be found. The way she could hear all this, from her breathing to the blood pumping in her ears made her worry that everything else could hear it too. The worst part about it was how the silence surrounding her only seemed to increase.

'_How does dead silence get QUIETER?_' Jade griped, pushing down hard on her fears.

Soon the walls began to change and expand outwards. They were all clearly coated in thick sticky ropes, each rope branching off into millions of tiny strands covering everything in sight. An endless web as far as she could see.

'_Spider monster it is then_,' she acknowledged, more nervous than she'd ever care to admit.

The young Oni was careful, making sure not to touch the walls, floors or ceilings, and to avoid any thick webbing intersecting between the two. Who knew how sticky that stuff could be or what it'd call down on her to run into it. She was once again thankful for her ability to levitate. Her spidery companions were gone now, disappeared deep into the webbed floor and out of sight.

Jade was forced to cover her mouth and nose by now, the place reeked of sheer unfathomable age. Eons of dust, the strange indescribable smell of old webs penetrating everything and just the still dank air was enough to begin choking her. Who knew what she was breathing in here? If she wasn't careful mushrooms would be growing in her lungs before this adventure was over.

Different paths began to branch off to the sides, pits in the floor and tunnels going straight up in the ceiling. Jade began to wonder if this whole mountain was hollow and if so, what had the strength to actually hollow it? None of these tunnels were natural; her times with Jackie had led her to be able to discern that much.

She chose to stick to the main path, ignoring the branching intersections all over. Tarakudo said this lady would find her, well she intended to keep him to his word on that.

Avoiding every strand in her path became increasingly difficult as they were becoming more numerous the deeper she went. As she continued to float on, she felt something faint, just a strand, catch and break on her ankle. She looked down and raised her foot up to check, when the left wall suddenly shook and sprang towards her faster than she could blink.

The net of web, strands thicker than her limbs, hit her full in the chest pinning her into the right wall and pressing her tightly. She coughed out, the air knocked from her. Reflexively she sucked in huge breaths of dusty air, before choking and coughing it back out. Her back, slashes and all, ached terribly from the impact and the dust it kicked up stung her eyes.

Once Jade had her bearings, she reflexively tried to float forward freeing herself from the web net in front of her and behind her. But in dawning horror she made no progress whatsoever. The strands stuck to her like superglue and were as tough as steel cables. Her super-strength may as well not have existed even as she strained with all her might.

'_No nonononono NO!_' she thought in a panic. '_How could I fall into such a dumb trap?! That thread was thinner than a hair, I couldn't even SEE the damn thing! That's not fair, how could something so flimsy even TRIGGER this?! Magic?!_'

Jade struggled more and more, remembering spiders hunted via vibrations in their webs but being too panicked to care. She'd come much too far to get eaten by a bug now!

Leaning down she bit hard on the nearest strand by her throat, pulling and tearing at it with her razor sharp fangs and powerful jaw. It was sticky and gross, covered in dust and tasting tough and rubbery, a weirdly fibrous texture.

She was to intent to gnaw away at her captor she didn't even feel the slight movement around her until something large and dark slowly and smoothly slid down over her. Her Oni vision was no great boon now, letting her see every disgusting and horrific detail hovering above her.

It was a giant spider, which Jade found fairly obvious, but that didn't make her face-to-face with it any less terrifying. Every one of its numerous black eyes glistening, fangs the size of bananas, eight thick powerful legs each ending in two curled hooks. She could see hairs covering it here and there in a pattern, but for the most part its body was a glossy black and red. … She was beginning to understand very quickly why some people were afraid of these things.

Jade was too terrified to drop the rope held tight between her teeth, if anything, she bit down harder. Especially when one of the spider's stubby front limbs reached over and gently stroked a tear away from her cheek.

'_When did I start crying?_' some part of her wondered. The part not distracted by a giant monster spider.

When the spider spoke, it was almost a relief. Its voice was low and throaty like an old woman's. Each word was dry and perfectly enunciated.

"I was wondering when you would finally fall into one of my traps, little Oni. It was a welcome distraction, for a time, to watch you wander through my halls. I had so longed for the smell of fear, so I decided to let you take care of yourself rather than waste my energy pouncing on such meager prey."

Jade managed the mental control to slowly work her jaw off the strand of web and pull her head back, assessing the situation as the massive arachnid hovered above her. She thought quickly, ideas passing through her head a mile a minute.

'_Okay, this thing wants to eat me, it just said so_,' Jade reasoned, '_but it's smart, a normal spider would have already done it. The seven Demon Sorcerers had me just as bad, and I talked my way out of THAT and they were way worse that some ugly bug._'

The young Oni swallowed down her fear and the taste of old yucky webs and tried to convince herself that she wasn't terrified. She didn't believe it but it was all she had, so she tried to make it work.

"I-I'm a Shadowkhan, y'know…" Jade began stumbling over her words as the multiple eyes bore into her, lacking any expression she could read.

"I didn't wanna scare you coming in here, but I can make like fifty deadly ninja pop up with my mind! I'm NOT some 'meager prey' or whatever! Got it?!"

"Oho?" the spider chuckled in amusement, leaning in so her right fang tapped down beside Jade's cheek. She pulled and twisted trying to give herself more than a few centimeters between her face and the cruel and likely poisonous edge beside her.

"Let us pretend I am naïve enough to accept your transparent bluff as truth and ignore how you reek of delicious terror," she had no visible mouth but her tone was a smirk.

"Should I tell you how many Shadowkhan whelps I have personally laid low? You mentioned fifty. That would be just grand. I have not eaten so well in a very long time…"

"However, I am far too old to play with my food and you really do just look so sweet. So forgive me, but I have no more patience to reserve for an impudent supper."

She leaned forward, positioning her fangs so that she might burry them in Jade's throat, "I humbly receive…"

In spite of herself, Jade's eyes narrowed at the spider's mocking tone and advancing threat. A day's worth of constant indignity boiling and bubbling inside her. It mixed with her fear, making for a deadly and volatile reaction. Her lips pulled back showing her own fangs before she shouted out in the spider's face, halting its advance.

"Listen, Spider-Hag, I don't care HOW many you ate! I have taken on and beaten things that would have you WETTING your WEB! Dragons! Demons! Evil spirits! The KING ONI and so many peon monsters I lost track!"

She thrust her head forward, not caring about how deep a grave she was burying herself, too angry, hurt and scared to give it a second thought at this point.

"If something is gonna make ME bite the dust, it's not gonna be a BIG. OLD. UGLY. BUG like you!" Jade screamed at the mammoth arachnid. Immediately after, she was breathing hard. Her throat feeling raw and sore from the sudden strain.

She didn't even get a chance to recover before the spider's stubby "arms" reached out and grabbed her around the chin, yanking her head up so that their eyes met. The grip was so tight it was making her see stars, she could hardly breathe; a gasping and choking was all she could manage as her eyes bugged out.

'_Why did I say all that?!_' Jade asked herself, despair beginning to set in. '_Am I beginning to lose it? I'm just so tired my filter broke down? Well, I'm paying for it now…_'

The young Oni wheezed as the spider continued to squeeze. It had no expressions but Jade could somehow sense that it was glaring at her with hate dripping from every solid black eye.

"You have just lost your opportunity to a relatively painless death, child," the spider hissed out, fangs trembling with rage. "Now, however, you have the unique opportunity to learn firsthand all of my truly staggering knowledge on the application of pain. Consider yourself most fortunate, this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience…"

"Now now ladies!" a familiar voice to Jade's left suddenly spoke out. She cursed herself for the tears of relief she felt when the mad old spider released her grip and turned towards the voice along with her. She took a greedy breath, the stars in her vision beginning to fade.

The aforementioned Oni King, Tarakudo floated beside them, his expression and tone akin to a teacher admonishing children, "This is hardly the way to begin a mutual venture. At the very least aren't proper introductions in order?"

The spider pulled away from Jade slightly, seeming to eye the giant face for a moment. Then light began to form in the air and dance around the arachnid spinning and building, the sudden brightness burning into Jade's eyes and forcing her to look way until her eyes began to adjust.

Peering cautiously back, an image, something like a humanoid shadow was beginning to super-impose over the spider's own, which seemed to rapidly fade away. The image gained color and definition at the rate the spider seemed to vanish until hugging the web around Jade was… probably the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen in her entire life.

She was perfect, flawless, skin an unnatural solid white, slender with a long neck and perfectly symmetrical features. Her red eyes were framed by long thick black lashes and her lips were soft-looking and dark red, matching her eyes. Her hair cascaded down past her back where Jade couldn't see and was like a river of ink.

She wore an elaborate red kimono, embroidered with impossibly intricate gold designs, the long sleeves hiding her arms from view. Jade couldn't help but blush when she noticed how low-cut she wore it on herself, revealing a scandalous amount of generous snow-white cleavage.

'_But it's TOO perfect_,' Jade couldn't help but notice.

'_Nobody is this pretty, anywhere. It's obvious she's not human. That and, well… that_,' Jade noted, looking down at the powerful eight legs and abdomen spilling out from beneath the kimono.

The spider, now changed, bowed her head slightly to the floating face. Her expression was neutral but Jade could somehow sense some aggression beneath the perfect surface.

"Lord Tarakudo," she spoke, her voice having become smooth and clear as a bell, in dire opposition with that old hag voice she'd used earlier. "It has been a very long time. To what do I owe the… pleasure of your visit?"

"The pleasure, Your Majesty, is all mine," Tarakudo grinned, bowing slightly back before looking at Jade.

"And you're looking well, my dear. Pleasant trip?"

"Bite me, Eyebrows," Jade scoffed, pouting and turning away. The adrenaline draining out of her system gave her chills. "I didn't need your help."

"Clearly," Tarakudo muttered, rolling his eyes. He turned towards the spider-woman and stated casually, "Queen Jorōgumo, allow me to introduce you to my spunky young protégé, Chan Jade."

"Jade," the Oni King stated, turning back her way, "Allow me to introduce you to the reigning Queen of the Jorōgumo. She has no personal name, it's not their custom."

The Queen looked back at Jade with the look of someone who just noticed they'd stepped in a cow pie. Jade returned the expression in kind with an outwardly thrust purple tongue. The Queen's eye seemed to twitch at that but she seemed less inclined to lose her temper in front of someone she seemed to respect. Or at least pretended to.

"Is there a reason you are introducing me to my next meal, My Lord?" she asked softly. She reached a dainty and slender hand from her sleeve, each digit ending in a long black lacquered nail. She casually reached over and moved some of Jade's sweaty bangs out of her eyes and behind her right ear.

"I doubt knowing how to properly address her will improve her flavor."

Jade sneered and pulled away from her hand, thinking of something nice and scathing to return with, Tarakudo's presence having bolstered her confidence.

"I need not to remind you of the understanding we had before, My Queen. You and your kind are not to attack any Shadowkhan except in defense."

"My kind?" she laughed lightly, but the humor didn't reach her eyes. "She invaded my home, I can consider this an act of aggression and act on it as I see fit."

"You were never in any danger and knew it. You're just upset because she wounded your pride. You can stop posturing; you won't eat her because I'm asking you not to. Need I remind you of the debt you owe?" His eyes narrowed threateningly.

Jade blinked, feeling uncomfortably like a voyeur as the Oni King and the Joro-whatever verbally sparred. She frowned and thrust out her lower lip, annoyed that whenever adults talked she was always forgotten. This reminded her of her parents.

"Owe you?" the queen frowned, leaning forward. "WHAT do I owe you, King of Oni? You promised my people and I safety. Tell me, do we look safe?"

She gestured to the empty corridors of stone and web surrounding them with a wave of one arm.

The Lord of Shadowkhan scoffed openly at the answer, "I will take no responsibility for your kind repeating the same mistakes that forced me to intercede on your behalf in the first place."

He leaned in so their eyes were only inches apart, "The only difference is I wasn't there to save you the second time. You squandered the second chance I gave you and now live in your own ruin. But you DO owe me a debt and I have come to collect."

Jade couldn't help but be impressed when the spider-woman seemed to wilt slightly, stepping away. '_She's really backing down… Tarakudork is actually pushing the big bug around, even all sealed up. Does she even realize Big Red's been declawed and can't actually back any of this up? Or maybe that doesn't matter here…_'

The Queen sighed and turned a cold and piercing glare Jade's way then lashed out like lighting with her right hand.

Jade cried out and covered her eyes, expecting a blow to land. But nothing came. She blinked and looked up from her forearms, and saw the two supernatural beings regarding her impassively. Then she realized she was moving her arms in the first place.

Looking down, she saw she was free of the webbing, perfectly sliced piles of the stuff landing softly below where she hovered. None seemed to even be clinging to her skin where it had once held her like a vice.

"Wow…" Jade couldn't help but voice in awe at the instant flash of deadly precision. "That was, like, Samurai stuff!"

Both seemed to bristle at the thought.

"Hardly," Tarakudo scoffed.

"Do not be vulgar," the spider-woman agreed.

"Sensitive much?" Jade bristled, stretching out in joy at being able to move freely again.

"You are just in luck that I have suddenly lost my appetite," the Queen responded, thorns on her voice.

Jade winced, then fixed her gaze on Tarakudo and planted her hands on her hips. "So you wanted me to be here meeting Creepy Crawly, right? Why?"

The Queen's eyes narrowed and Jade worried she'd pushed her too far, but the royal spider regained her composure quickly and also turned to the Lord Oni.

"Yes, My Lord, I too would very much like to know why you directed an ill-mannered and half-witted little Oni kit into my final sanctuary."

"Hey-!"

Tarakudo looked between the two with some degree of apprehension, apparently starting to reassess the situation before finally taking a deep breath and biting the proverbial bullet.

"I wanted to address this more delicately, but… actually; there is no tactful way to say what I am proposing so I'll just tip my hand here. Even though I am rather lacking in that appendage."

The queen's eyes narrowed, while jade just rolled her's at her boss's terrible no-body joke.

"Tough crowd," Tarakudo frowned and then went on, first facing the Queen. "You owe me a life debt for saving your life and the lives of your dearly departed race. I want you to pay me back by fostering and raising Jade, teaching her your ways, your spells, your strengths."

The Queen narrowed her eyes and reached up, playing with a lock of her long hair between the slender digits. "You ask more of me than I owe, Oni King. I can foster and protect her or I can teach her my secrets. I hate children in general, My Lord, unless I am digesting them. Choose one or the other, I will not offer favors for no gain."

Jade tsked and looked away, glad for the Queen's refusal. She couldn't stand the snooty uptight and carnivorous bug and couldn't wait to march her way out of this god forsaken cave.

The young demon-girl frowned when her boss smirked at the Spider Queen's declaration. That was never good. She braced herself for the worst.

"It's as you say, My Queen," he smugly acknowledged, "I ask more than I've earned. However, I also provide you with the means to give your race a future. Something that will greatly be to both our benefit."

He turned towards Jade and nodded. The Spider Queen's eyes seemed to widen as she realized something and took a step back, an act particularly complicated for someone with eight legs as all of them took a single step back.

She looked down at Jade as though she'd turned into some sort of different creature entirely. Then back at Tarakudo, her mouth open as if she wanted to speak but not finding the words. A moment later she seemed to compose herself, but her perfect brow was knit.

"Do you understand what it is that you are asking of me, My Lord?" she asked, clutching her hands together tightly. "What this will MEAN?"

"I know EXACTLY what this means, Your Highness," Tarakudo stated firmly. "For both you, I-"

He turned his gaze towards Jade, "And her. It is your only hope, of that there can be no doubt."

"Well I don't know what that means!" Jade finally blurted, her frustration nearing its limits. "I'm still here, y'know! Stop talking all spooky and fill me in!"

Tarakudo grumbled, annoyed at the youngest of the three's interruption. "This is complicated, Your Majesty, I need you to keep an open mind."

"I DO have an open mind, My Lord," The Queen frowned offended, placing her arms back into her sleeves.

"No, I mean… I also call… whatever! Jade, what I'm about to tell you is going to sound rather… drastic. And to be perfectly honest, it very much is. But you wanted power and I promised you that," he started looking towards the Queen.

"Yeah…?" Jade's brow knit and she began to chew on her tongue nervously.

"Simply put… the Queen would give you her power and strength. In return you will need to carry something for her."

Jade raised her eyebrow at the Oni Lord's overly edited phrasing, "Carry something? What, like luggage?"

"Of a sort," the Oni King mumbled, trying to think of a way to phrase his intent that would best sell its merits.

Unfortunately the Queen was not so patient and made the truth clear much less tactfully than Tarakudo would have liked.

"The Oni King is trying. and failing miserably, to tell you that in return for being fostered under my care and being taught my kind's ways, you would allow me to implant the Vessel of my kind within your body and let it change you to become a being like myself."

There was a pause when the Queen finished her explanation, dead silence reigned out. Jade's thoughts seemed to grind to a halt as she struggled to sort the stream of words out of the Queen's mouth in a way that made some semblance of rationality. She struggled with this for what felt like hours as the two ancient creatures regarded her. The Queen's gaze was cold and focused, while Tarakudo seemed to almost be holding his non-existent breath.

Finally, Jade came up with the word that most perfectly personified the conclusion she had reached.

"What?"

The Queen sighed and regarded her dispassionately, "I would be implanting-"

"No," Jade cut off, ignoring how being interrupted brought a look of sharp anger to the Queen's already narrowed eyes. "You have GOT to be kidding. That CAN'T be what you brought me up here for!"

She shouted at Tarakudo, her voice reaching in volume as she talked until it bordered on a scream, "You trick me into leaving Earth, drag me NAKED through this NIGHTMARE world, almost get me eaten by a BUG with an ATTITUDE problem, and your plan all this time was to ship me off under her so I can be turned into a bug TOO?! Are you KIDDING?!"

"Well, when you put it like THAT," Tarakudo muttered in a dismissive tone only adding to her rage.

"You think I'd EVER let you put a… a 'Vessel'? What even IS that?" she frowned, looking towards the Queen.

The Queen looked at her nails dismissively, before stating calmly, "An eggsack. You would also be expected to carry my eggs to term. That is what he meant by saving my race."

"C-carry your eggs?" Jade asked aloud, her face drained of color and eyes bulging, "Like, being PREGNANT with a bunch of SPIDER babies?!"

"Obviously," the Queen sighed in annoyance, turning towards the Lord of Shadowkhan and adding, "I doubt you put very much thought into this, My Lord. Look at her; she does not have the resolve needed for this task. And clearly not the intelligence."

"Do not judge her so hastily, as others have. She has seen the doom of other beings of much greater power than yourself, that was not a bluff," Tarakudo shot back, before turning his attention to Jade.

The girl was staring blankly at them both, her mouth open wide and frozen in an expression of horror and betrayal as she regarded the two. She seemed to be in no hurry to move anytime soon. Tarakudo frowned, his impatience growing.

He didn't have time for this, here he was offering the girl awesome power that would rival, possibly eclipse his Generals, and she was whining about it. Who cared if she needed to birth some pests to gain this power? He knew others who would have BEGGED him for this chance, pleaded on their KNEES.

He began to ask, "You okay in there-"

"FUCK YOU!" she cut off, finally voicing the thought growing louder and louder in her mind. She'd never cursed like this in front of adults; she didn't tend to like swearing in general, it was something stupid people said when they couldn't think of anything smarter. But this just burst out of her and it felt OH so good.

Both beings blinked in varying degrees of surprise. The Queen from lacking an understanding of that word, and Tarakudo from not expecting Jade would have the gall to use it to his face. He was almost impressed.

"FUCK you and the Dark Chi blast you rode in on!" Jade added again for good measure, reveling in the sheer feeling of release it gave her to blurt her feelings out so succinctly.

"Jade, you're blowing this out of proportion-" Tarakudo began, before Jade exploded again.

"Here's what's gonna happen now! YOU are gonna tell me how to break this sealing spell, I go back home and we are DONE! Got it?!"

The Queen seemed annoyed at the outburst, but simply stood looking regal and disturbingly fake as usual. Jade almost preferred her giant ugly spider form. She was completely sick and tired of lies in all their various flavors. All she wanted now was the ugly truth all the time.

Tarakudo stared for a moment, and then stated, "I'm afraid I can't do that, Jade. THIS is your way back home."

"What does THAT mean?" she snapped raising her fists, the knuckles pink from the strain.

"You never ask the important questions and then you get upset because that costs you," Tarakudo stated. His tone was losing some of his snark as he shook his head in disappointment, frustration taking hold.

"You SEALED yourself, you may have done it on purpose but that does NOT mean you can just come and go as you please. Magic doesn't work that way. Your astral self was ripped from your physical self and time was literally slowed down around you," he firmly imparted on his disobedient charge.

"It was one of the spells I had you apply in the warehouse. You think ANY time has gone by in the mortal plane since you came here? It hasn't. For every year you spend here, only an hour will pass in the human world.

He gestured towards her, "Your astral body is still linked to your physical one. A strain will form between them as your astral self stops resembling your physical self. Either through aging naturally or taking the option of power I presented. It will create a straining effect that will allow you to snap back at your leisure but for you this process will take YEARS. Either way, you're going to be here for a very long time, you had best get used to the idea."

Jade lowered her head, her fists at her sides while her whole body trembled. She mentally raged at the Oni King for tricking her into this, at herself for falling for it and admittedly not thinking it through, for not asking questions when they were most important, for being stuck NAKED in this god awful wasteland, and most of all, for throwing away her life for this on PURPOSE!

Her parents, Jackie, Uncle, Tohru, Viper, El Toro, even annoying Paco, they felt so far away now and they WERE. She was alone here surrounded by twisted awful monsters. She had no friends to comfort her or turn to; she was actually alone for the first time in her life and the realization took her breath away.

After awhile she looked up at the two before her, both waiting patiently for her response. First she turned to the Spider Queen and asked through gritted teeth, "Do you have any clothes, even just panties, to spare?"

"I am not a tailor peddling my wares for peasants. I do not give favors to those who have no means of repayment," her eyes narrowed, "Or refuse the means presented to them."

"Whatever, thanks for THAT," she pouted, turning and floating back the way she came. The Queen made no move to follow her.

Jade tried to ignore it when Tarakudo vanished then reappeared directly in front of her, moving at the same speed as she floated by. "Just where do you think you're going, Young Lady?"

"If I'm stuck here, fine! But I don't need YOUR lousy help to get me anywhere!" she declared as she continued on her way.

"You REALLY don't want to be out there on your own," Tarakudo tried to explain, but knew better by now than to say 'trust me'.

"I have all the time in the world, right?" she pressed. "Well I can be a badass all on my own, you just watch me. I'll be QUEEN of this place in a few years. That fox wasn't so tough!"

"That Fox was…" Tarakudo sighed and then stopped, moving out of her way. "I've said my piece; you've been given your options and made your choice. You have my number, don't hesitate to call."

"…Just like that?" Jade asked warily, looking back and forth. "No tricks?"

"No tricks. Have fun out there, Kid." The Oni King stated, his tone was tired and dismissive. He gave her no chance to respond before fading completely out of sight.

Jade tsked and kept floating by, upset that she bothered to hear the big liar out in the first place. She didn't need him, she was Jade Chan! She had a bigger list of accomplishments in her life than most people could ever dream up. This was nothing to her, just another challenge for her to rise to.

She pressed her lips in determination, seeing the gray light of the outside beckoning her. She was Jade Chan and she would MAKE this awesome!

The cave disappeared around her and like that she was back in the open, surrounded by the limitless gray once again. She sighed and stretched, forcing all the hateful thoughts down, trying to hold onto her determination.

'_This WOULD be awesome_,' she declared again, satisfied that it started to feel less like a falsehood and more like familiar optimism.

Jade then blinked and looked down, suddenly remembering how she reached this cave in the first place. Her determination flickered and died like a candle in the wind as she floated back towards the ground and flopped down to her knees.

"Awww…"

XXX

'_All in all a routine adventure situation unusually well in hand_,' Jade thought to calmly to herself assessing the situation she currently found herself in.

This was no big deal, really. She'd been in worse situations by far and rose to the challenge. Soon this would be just another notch in her currently non-existent belt, a neat story to share in the future. It'd even seem funny by then.

Jade sighed, and shook her head. Her forced optimism finally dying as the she steadily got dizzier from rhythmically rotating around over and over.

'_... Ah, when did everything turn to suck in my life?_' she admitted bitterly, straining her thin wrists and ankles against the bonds tying her to the spit she was rotating around on. A massive and ridiculously ugly ogre was idly cranking the spit while his other hand tended to a thick branch he was using to stir some foul smelling brew in a massive iron pot.

The creature was built like a semi, huge and thick, nearly as tall as Shendu in his unsealed form. Its teal skin was rough and patchy like leather stretched tight over rippling and grotesquely bulging muscles. Its stomach was bloated despite its cut build and sagged gelatinously over its only article of clothing; a loincloth seemingly skinned from a tiger.

Its face was the worst part though, almost resembling an Oni if one shaved away any semblance of intelligence. Its eyes bulged in its sockets, wall-eyed and wild. Its face seemed stuck in a permanent grimace with its tusk-like teeth curving outwards, clearly impossible to close its mouth around. Long curved horns grew and curled up from its temples and framed a long mane of black and coarse pig-like hair.

They were in a small cave, thankfully one on the surface level cutting right into the foot of the mountain. It was small compared to the last one, just a single large space lit only by the fire beneath the massive pot and the embers smoldering beneath Jade. She could only smell the burning wood beneath her now and the greasy rotten stink from the pot. But when she'd first been dragged in by the ankles, the entire cave area had smelled saturated by filth and monstrous body-odor, like a zoo on a hot day.

Currently the Ogre chef was humming some sort of Japanese folk tune to itself as it happily went about the process of preparing its next meal. Judging from its stomach, the last one couldn't have been THAT long ago. Although what it was eating so much of in this wasteland, Jade couldn't imagine and wanted to part in guessing.

"Drew, when I get out of this ... I don't even know what I can do to make you pay enough. But I will think of something. I hope," jade muttered hatefully as the spit she was tied on continued to turn over the embers glowing below her.

"FOOD NOT TALK," The Ogre bellowed shaking the spit to press its point to Jade. She tried to glare at the thuggish beast but was at too awkward an angle. Not to mention, it was far too stupid and cocky to take anything meaningful from the gesture.

'_Who am I to talk?_' Jade frowned, giving a weak sigh. '_I'm the one in the process of being slow roasted, not Bright-Eyes over there._'

'_I talked a big game, but really, I always had the rest of the J-Team backing me up. I was never REALLY alone like this and now see where it got me…_'

"Well, this is impressive," a voice stated impassively in the direction she was rotating. She recognized the voice immediately well before she saw it. It made Jade want to sigh again but she was too annoyed, dizzy and upset to bother with the gesture. So she just glared red-hot daggers towards the Oni King.

The Ogre noticed the face and foreign voice and stood up with a roar, swiping at the Oni's face with its thick claws, shouting, "NO! BAD FACE! RAGO NOT LIKE! RAGO NOT LIKE!"

Its claws passed through Tarakudo's face as though it was mist and he ignored the massive Ogre outright as he continued to address Jade.

"You were absolutely right, you didn't need me when you set off on your own," Tarakudo said, watching her rotate slowly. "Four whole hours ago."

Jade turned her face away from her ex-employer sullenly, refusing to rise to the Shadowkhan Lord's bait, preferring to watch Rago try and fail to tear the sudden giant floating head from the air.

Eventually the Ogre flopped back down on its massive rear, tired and spent at the hopeless task. It glared distrustfully at Tarakudo's face for a moment more before returning its limited attention to the spit and the stew, apparently having decided that anything it couldn't touch couldn't hurt it.

Tarakudo rolled his eyes at Jade's silent treatment, unimpressed. "Oh c'mon now, this isn't the Jade I know. You always have SOMETHING to say, usually something inane and poorly thought out. But these might be your last words; don't you want to make them count?"

"Fuck. You. Tarakudork," Jade stated firmly, her eyes closed and resolute as she happily punctuated every word.

"HA HA TARAKUDORK!" the Ogre added, finding the word itself funny enough to add its two cents, momentarily forgetting that it didn't want its meal chatting it up.

"Classy note to leave on, Ms. Chan." Tarakudo sighed, "But really, I'm disappointed. I was hoping to ally with resourceful, determinate and unflappable Jade. Seems I brought Yu here by mistake."

"You don't know ANYTHING about me!" Jade snapped, that name rousing her from her apathy, "You just wanted to use me and lie to me and screw me around and I'm NOT gonna let you anymore! You can't just pull that name out and push me around like last time; I'm NOT falling for it again!"

"SHUT UP!" Rago shouted, standing and reaching out to rattle the spit again, cutting Jade off from ranting further.

"NO TALKING BEFORE RAGO EAT SHADOWKHAN PUP!" it declared proudly, letting go of the branch to thump itself on the chest. "RAGO GAIN POWER OF SHADOWKHAN! BECOME ONI!"

Jade felt sick from the constant spinning, sudden shaking and just the stress of Tarakudo's presence hovering beside her. It was all she could do to keep her bile from rising up and humiliating herself further. So much so that she missed Tarakudo respond.

"He's got a point, you know," Tarakudo added casually, before turning to the ogre. "Hey big guy, if you turn blue, think you'd be interested in a job?"

Jade clenched her eyes shut, trying to block everything out; the sound of the Oni Lord's casual mockery, the Ogre Rago's idiotic declarations, the feeling of her turning over and over and the heat beginning to become painful. Most of all, she blocked out her growing overwhelming fear and disgust with herself.

She wrestled with the growing feeling inside her, trying to choke it down with memories of herself in similar hopeless situations. So many near death experiences just like this one she'd managed to squeeze out of in the nick of time.

But Jackie and the others were always there, having her back, there to catch her. And her to catch them in turn. Nobody would catch her here, least of all, Big Red.

"Open your eyes, child. And watch closely," a dry raspy voice suddenly whispered right into her ear, cutting through her thoughts like a hot knife.

Her eyes bulged and she looked left and right trying to find the source, but there was nothing. Just the world turning up and down as she was steadily rotated around. Was it in her head? This wouldn't have been the first indication that she was steadily losing her grip on reality that day.

But suddenly she heard the sound of soft rustling footfalls on the loose grit of the cave beside the entrance. They were too numerous and rhythmic to be from one person she thought at first. But then she saw the source of them step casually past the threshold of the cave.

The steps were too numerous for a person with two legs, yes, but not one with eight.

This apparently alerted both the Ogre and the Oni Lord, as the both turned towards the new intruder in enraged shock and mild surprise respectively.

The Queen was in a form different from the giant spider and the perfect beauty Jade had seen previously. If she were to describe it, it would be as some sort of hybrid between the two. Her lower spider-like body remained unchanged, massive with eight black legs, and a thick bushy red abdomen.

But her upper body was also covered in the coarse red fur, the parts Jade could see through the kimono at least. Her body bent forward, crooked with age, her arms curled in front of her feebly. Each joint was segmented, even her individual finger knuckles. She only had three now per hand, each ending in a thick sharp claw.

Her face was no longer even vaguely human, with huge oval-like black eyes and two smaller eyes above each larger one in place of eyebrows as well as no visible nose. Long fangs curled over her segmented lower jaw, and her hair hung down low to her spider-legs, thick and ropey, the color of old webbing. With her human glamour gone, she looked every bit an ancient monster now.

The Queen regarded the three silently, her six eyes seemingly focused on Jade while apparently ignoring the others.

"Your Majesty-?" Tarakudo began, but a roar from Rago cut him off. The Ogre shouted in a rage and rushed towards the elderly spider, having grabbed a thick black iron club the size of a minivan from the left side wall.

"GO AWAY SPIDER!" the Ogre declared, bringing the heavy metal weapon down on the Queen's skull. Strangely, Jade found herself not wincing in anticipation for the gristly result.

To the Ogre's horror, the club seemed to freeze in the air above the Queen's head, the old Spider not even giving it or the Ogre a second thought as the latter struggled and whined to move the heavy weapon.

She turned her attention towards Tarakudo and spoke, her voice the same old croak she had used when she'd first pinned Jade to the wall. "Leave us, My Lord. I will have words with the girl in private."

Tarakudo opened his mouth, seeming ready to respond in the negative, then paused and closed his mouth with a smirk. "I understand, Your Majesty. I leave it to you then. Have fun, you two."

He turned his attention towards Jade and added under his breath, "Pay attention, Kid. You may just learn a thing or two."

With that, the Oni King faded from sight once again but Jade hardly noticed. Her eyes were fixed on where the iron club was stuck in mid air, the Ogre cursing up a storm and pulling at it with all his might to no avail.

Jade's eyes thought she saw something as they focused around the club, the way the light seemed to shine there was somewhat strange.

'_Are those… threads?_' she wondered, beginning to see dozens of tiny ephemeral lines intersecting around the length of the club, connected to the walls all around them.

"You see them," the Queen stated. "Good, watch closely."

With a light twitch of one of her claws, the threads seemed to suddenly vibrate and constrict. Hardly believing her eyes, Jade watched the thick club suddenly fell apart in thick slices clanging loudly as they impacted the cave floor. The Ogre roared in horror, dropping the useless handle and stumbling back, fear written into its hideous skull-like face.

The Queen turned her attention towards it, her arachnid eyes narrowing in annoyed disgust at the brutish beast towering over her.

Jade couldn't help but feel impressed, the Queen wasn't even half the Ogre's size and was twisted with age at that. And yet IT was retreated from HER in fear.

"My scent was upon this girl you intended to eat. My mark, and yet you still chose to steal what is mine and offer me no reparations in return. Did you think I would not know? That you would not face my retribution?"

She took several steps towards the Ogre which by now was pressed against the back cave wall. "You have dishonored the Queen Jorōgumo, an act punishable by death."

Smirking caused the Old Spider's fangs to bare even further outwards almost reaching her chin. "Normally, that would mean me simply killing you swiftly with my bare hands."

The Queen turned towards Jade, "But I have something I must make clear to the girl. As such your death must be an example of my might. It is assured, so do not hesitate to come at me with all your strength. Die with pride, Ogre."

Jade wasn't sure how much of that Rago could understand, but apparently the threat of its certain death was enough to spur it into action. It roared and threw itself forward, its boulder-sized fist rocketing towards the Queen's comparatively small form.

"I am Impressed. Foolish to attack me though it may be; you did not attempt to flee. I suppose even a beast has its own sense of honor," she muttered gesturing vaguely to the right wall.

With a yelp, Rago was lifted off his feet, and sent sailing toward the wall smashing into it hard head first. The whole thing cracked with the impact, and Jade couldn't help but gulp when a bloody horn landed in front of her face.

"Yeesh…" she muttered, looking back up at the crash site. She could see the massive Ogre covered in tiny threads like the one that had halted its club and acted as the Queen's barrier.

The Ogre groaned, and began to rise slowly, causing the Queen to frown in annoyance. "Persistence will afford you nothing but misery."

She gestured to the left wall, and the Ogre was sent sailing again with a whimpering cry, imbedding itself into that wall too, its second horn snapping off on the impact. "Your death will be a lesson to all those who have forgotten to fear the Spider Queen's wrath."

"Old lady's hardcore…," Jade muttered, too impressed to remember how much she had loathed the spider during their last encounter.

Still, Rago stood and weakly turned towards them, his face a pulpy indistinguishable ruin of broken bone, burst and pulped flesh and fragments of stone imbedded in the skull. Jade looked away in disgust, awed that the awful beast could still live in such a state.

"You think I would have approached you before making your cave my own, Beast?" the Queen asked softly, bringing the Ogre down to its knees, bound and trembling. It was still larger than the Queen even in that position, but there was no doubt in Jade's mind which between the two was the greater monster.

"I had already made my way through your cave extensively without you noticing, spreading my threads throughout every corner, planning every step of this altercation before it even began," the Queen explained to the prostrate beast impassively.

"You and the girl did not even notice me extinguish the embers beneath her," the Queen explained with some amusement.

Jade looked down, for the first time noticing the lack of heat, and saw the embers black and dead beneath her. She looked back up at the smug Queen, her eyes as big as dinner plates, suddenly remembering the voice that spoke in her ear.

'_THAT was when she must have done it_,' Jade realized in open shock, '_But HOW? Was she invisible? Can she do the same thing as the Snake Talisman?_'

The Queen smirked at the Young Oni's open awe, but turned back to the Ogre. She reached her gnarled claws out and lightly put them around its throat, pulling it down towards her mouth. It whimpered all the while through what remained of its face.

"Taking on a spider in her web is a mission for morons and fools," the Queen explained softly, "You qualify as both and have paid the toll for your presumption."

"I humbly receive," she stated. With that she buried her fangs into the side of its throat. The Ogre thrashed weakly in her grip, twisting back and forth but held firm by the powerful threads and the surprising strength in the Queen's ancient arms.

After awhile the Ogre formerly named Rago slumped in her grip. Jade could hear a powerful sucking coming from the Queen. To the young Chan's morbid astonishment, the Ogre began to shrivel and shrink in the Queen's fatal embrace until all that remained was dried out flesh hugging an oversized skeleton.

The Queen let the body slump out of her grip to the floor and then placed her hands together. She shut her six eyes and gave a polite bow, "It was a feast."

The Queen then lifted her gaze and peered over at Jade. The young lady continued to stare at the old spider. Her mouth hanging open in awe and more than a little fear, though she would never admit it.

The Spider Queen smirked and stepped over the shriveled body of the once mighty Ogre and approached where Jade was bound to the spit. She looked the girl's bound and naked body over the cooling ashes.

"Hmm… the beast may have been a half-wit, but he ties fine knots. It is no wonder you found yourself unable to break free and not mere incompetence," she swiped her claws over the bonds before Jade could protest and the girl was sent falling into the ashes beneath her.

Jade coughed hard, standing unsteadily, hacking at the ashes she'd breathed in from the impact. She stumbled to her feet and patted the black dust away, annoyed how it seemed to cling to her body. Ashes were just gross.

She sighed and looked up at the Queen standing calmly over her, her arms crossed into her kimono sleeves. She dreaded her words, but knew she could not avoid saying them, if she wanted to be able to look the Queen in the eye.

The Young Oni floated, faced the Queen and bowed her head as she saw Tarakudo do before, "Thanks a lot for saving me. You were way more badass than I thought. I can't believe you kicked the crap outta something so big so easily!"

The Queen curled her lip in slight distaste before nodding, "I do not care for your word choices, Child. But I understand the sentiment. I am pleased that you have come to understand my power."

'_Urgh… I knew I'd regret feeding Spider-Hag's ego_,' Jade mentally griped, trying to force the thought from twisting her expression. She didn't quite succeed but the Queen hardly noticed. Instead she seemed to be looking down at Jade's scabbed over hands in distaste.

"Really now," she tsked, "Did Lord Tarakudo not even teach you how to divert your energy towards recovery? This is simply unacceptable."

The Queen reached back to the very tip of her abdomen and pulled forward a thin strand of web, then took one of Jade's hands and began wrapping the thread expertly around each separate digit. The material was strangely soft and warm, clinging to her skin.

"Why are you suddenly being so nice to me? Saving me, and now wrapping me up…" Jade muttered, her eyes locked on the Queen's surprisingly dexterous digits as they bandaged her own. "Four hours ago you were ready to twist my head off like a bottlecap."

There was a pause, before the Queen looked up into Jade's eyes, her hands never stopping in their activity. "I have spent a portion of our time apart thinking over Lord Tarakudo's offer, the one towards you and I."

Jade stiffened but said nothing as the awful topic was brought back up. The Queen finished with her right hand, and then moved onto her left without skipping a beat. Jade flexed the fingers on her right hand, and found they bent easily, despite the webbing, the pain already half what it had been.

The Queen continued on, ignoring Jade's wonder, "I am very old, older than you realize. Also I am painfully aware that I am the last of my kind. With my death, the Jorōgumo will be forever extinct."

She looked Jade in the eye with all six of her own before finishing the left hand and gently turning her around so she could assess and begin treating the scratches on her back from the old fox.

"I could continue to live on here, in this silent waste. Perhaps I would even have several centuries more to look forward to," she explained softly, carefully wrapping the cuts on her back in her silk.

"But the thought of a life steadily counting down to my own extinction wearies me."

She finished her task, and turned Jade back to face her, taking a multi-legged step away and placing her arms regally back into her sleeves. "As Queen, I have a duty to my race. I must make the necessary sacrifice to see to our future."

"There are no humans here with which I could fertilize my eggs. Even if I were to attempt mating with some of the male beasts that prowl this world, the results would be unpredictable, likely… distasteful. "

She turned and reached out; stroking her claws over her abdomen, Jade figuring the gesture was directed to the dormant young trapped within the old monster. "But, were I to carefully implant my Vessel within a young woman on the cusp of physical development, flooded with Dark Chi… that act alone would result in a pseudo-fertilization for several of these eggs."

Jade swallowed, her mouth feeling oddly dry at the thought of such a procedure done to herself. She scrunched her face as she imagined the words she spoke, "So… we'd, like… BOTH be the moms of whatever babies that… fertilized?"

"In a sense, yes, they would wait dormant within you as your body developed and changed into something superior in order to carry them. By my calculations, this whole process of transformation should take roughly eight years. At its completion you will be able to leave this realm for your own, which is rather convenient. It will mean your young will not begin gestation until you are within the safety of your dimension. The Emptiness is no place for Kits."

"And then what?" Jade hazarded, clenching and unclenching her webbed-up hands.

"There are two options," the Queen explained levelly, "The one I find preferable is the fertilization upon transfer rouses all these eggs enough that they become soldiers. They would hopefully recognize the body they are housed in is not a true Jorōgumo, and in response they would devour you from the inside out, burst into your world, and take up where my kind previously left off."

Jade stared blankly for a moment, her face white with shock and horror at the imagery and her mouth sagging open. Then she shook her head thoroughly to see if she'd heard the old spider correctly. But then remembered with whom she was dealing with and asked dryly, "I get that you're super old, so I'm guessing it's possible you don't realize you said that out loud?"

The Queen's eyes narrowed and her answer sounded strained, "Do not test my patience, Child. Or question my faculties. Know that I have no use for pointless political subterfuge. That is for mortals and arrogant Oni, not the way of my kind."

Jade blinked, confused and conflicted by the Queen's frank admission. That kind of blunt honesty was rather refreshing after the Oni King's scheming, but it was still over something just so gross and twisted! Not that she wouldn't WANT to know the possibility of babies inside her eating their way out Alien style, but…

She sighed and gave up on settling on any conclusion about that, simply stating, "Well… THANKS for the honesty, I… guess… Better than lying to me about it…"

"You are welcome," the Queen nodded before adding, "But recall I said there were two possibilities. The other, unfortunately more likely of the two, is that only a handful, less than ten, of the eggs would be fertilized. They would be tainted by developing within you, more yours than mine. Birthing them would likely be no threat to you."

Jade's eyes narrowed and she floated forward unmindful of the danger until she was eye-to-eye with the old Queen before demanding, "So you WANT me to die, even if I LET you do this gross thing to me?! What the hell for?!"

The Queen was unmoved by Jade's display of aggression, explaining calmly, "I fear a future where my kind are warped and bound under Shadowkhan command from here on. I have nothing against you personally, but you are an Oni. Accepting this may eventually mean accepting Lord Tarakudo's deal with you and becoming his General. This is not the path I would wish for the Jorōgumo."

She looked out of the cave towards the endless gray beyond, "If you should die, they would be free. But even if you live, it would be better than extinction. Either way, you will not know whether the pregnancy shall be terminal until it has finally run its course. There is no way to truly anticipate the outcome of something so without precedent."

"Regardless I would do all in my power to prepare you and watch over you up until that point," she stated firmly, turning back towards Jade.

Jade looked down at the gritty floor with her arms crossed in silence as she absorbed the weight of the Queen's confession. She was startled when a furred claw came under her chin and lifted her gaze until it was eye-level with the Queen's.

"If you agree to undertake this, I promise you three things; first, I will see to it that you survive until moving back into the Mortal Realm. Feeding you, sheltering you, you will want for nothing here."

When it became apparent the Queen was waiting, Jade gave a hurried nod, "Second, I will teach you every power and secret of the Jorōgumo, the might I unleashed upon that Ogre shall be as easy for you as breathing. You are young, I have no doubt that under my strict tutelage you could even one day become a potential rival to my power."

Jade imagined it briefly, sending monsters flying with a mere wave of her hand, picturing the look on Shendu or Drago's face in place of that ugly Ogre's… she couldn't help but smirk before suddenly realizing something.

"This is what Tarakudo wanted you to do anyway, right?" she asked, reluctant to dance to the red Oni's tune any longer.

"Indeed it is. To get what I want, I need you to live until your return and the strength of your offspring would be directly connected to the strength you gain under my tutelage," the Queen explained distastefully. "His goals are unfortunately tailored to both our best interests."

"Lord Tarakudo's confidence comes from knowing how to control the actions of others through their desires. He has had a very long time to polish and perfect these skills. Though I think we can both agree, he struggles somewhat when it comes to the manipulation of females."

"Ain't THAT the truth," Jade agreed with a scoff.

"But," the Queen added with a cold smirk, "My third promise is in opposition to his Lordship's design."

"Y-yeah…?" Jade wondered.

"I shall never lie to you," the Queen finished calmly. "I too have no urge to dance to the Oni King's deceptive tunes, or play by his own game. While fostered into my care, you will never receive anything less than the cold honest truth in all things."

"Okay, that's a pretty good promise," Jade admitted with a slight nod.

"You are not worthy in my eyes," the Queen muttered, beginning to circle Jade and look her over in earnest. The young Oni blushed and tried not to cover herself reflexively, reminded that the Queen had already seen everything anyways.

"Irrational, emotional, impulsive," the Queen listed off, "undisciplined, ungraceful, and lacking in basic manners and etiquette. I cannot imagine how much your parents must have neglected to teach you."

"Thanks a lot, way to jump RIGHT into the honesty," Jade snapped, sticking her tongue out at the old spider. "And my parents taught me PLENTY, thank you very much!"

"BUT," the Queen stressed in frustration, "you are a capable young lady. Not one of the Oni King's pawns despite being his Kin."

The queen smirked, bearing her fangs clearly. Jade looked at them nervously, remembering when those same fangs were plunged deep into Rago's neck. "Best of all; that means this plan may very well eventually explode spectacularly in Lord Tarakudo's face. That is at least good enough for me to bear this indignity. I suspect you would agree with the sentiment, Child."

Jade couldn't help but give a fang-filled grin of her own at the sentiment, "Tch duh, I'd like to see that!"

"BUT there is something I would demand in return," the Queen stated sharply, her tone wiping the smug grin from Jade's face.

"You want something MORE than putting a bunch of spider-babies inside me that might KILL me and turning ME into a giant spider?" Jade challenged, brow knit.

"I do," The Queen stated, unphased by Jade's indignant tone. "I will demand your obedience."

"Oh come on-" Jade began to protest, but a sharp gesture cut her off.

"You are a willful girl, clearly. Perhaps where you come from that is to your strength," the Queen explained firmly. "But while fostered under my supervision; that will change. I will be asking much of you, and I will demand your complete obedience. You may protest all you want, even whine if you must. But your actions… those will be to follow my direct orders."

"You will live under me these next eight years to follow as an obedient disciple under a teacher. Afterwards, you will be free to live as long or short a life as you choose, by your own rules and designs."

"But I basically have to be your slave until then?" Jade scoffed dismissing the idea outright.

"What I ask is not unreasonable," the Queen explained calmly, "If you accept, my life will be at its end. The removal and transfer of this Vessel will be fatal. I can hold on until the end of your training, but once that is complete, I will die."

"What?!" Jade exclaimed, looking over the old spider, "I- why would you?"

"It is a Mother's prerogative," the Queen stated calmly. "Accept, and in time, you too will understand."

Jade looked away, eyes shut as the massive choice hung before her. She cursed herself as tears began to form against her will in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away roughly, and looked back up at the Queen, he solid red eyes, puffy and purple around the eyelids.

"It's not really a choice, is it?" she asked sharply, "If I say no, I'll be out there and snatched up as some other big monster thug's midnight snack!"

She turned to the corpse of Rago and gave it a swift kick to illustrate her point.

"You are young," the Queen explained coldly, "You have yet to learn that no important choice a person faces throughout their life is joyful. Now is the time that you learn, it is time to become an adult."

Jade turned away, hands at her side clenched tightly enough that the knuckles were a bright pink. Her bangs hid her eyes, but the Queen could see tears streaming down her chin.

She waited in silence, before finally Jade turned towards the Queen and held out her hand. Her face was blank despite the tears. "Fine, let's do it."

The Queen slowly reached out, and took the hand in her own, finding the gesture foreign. But she simply nodded, "Welcome to the family, Chan Jade."

**C04 – END**

**Author's Notes: Same grammar issue applies as in the first three chapters.**

**That aside, things are only gonna get more intense from here. This is only the beginning of Jade's trials to come.**

**Please enjoy!**


	5. Within Darkness

**Webwork**

**By **_**Trackula**_** and Co-written by **_**Eduard Kassel**_

C05 – Within Darkness

Sighing in relief, Jade settled back onto the Queen Spider's abdomen, her hands and feet gripping the thick coarse fur beneath her as the Queen steadily ascended up her mountain towards her cave.

It had been nice enough getting the ride home, nicer than she expected from the cruel old arachnid. But this in particular was the highlight of the trip, NOT needing to climb that damn mountain again.

It was pretty amazing, Jade had to admit, how effortlessly The Queen seemed to make this trek. There was no hesitation in her strides, and the steadiness her limbs had when grabbing the stone; they may as well have been walking horizontally.

Jade bounced against the package she was sharing abdomen space with and crinkled her nose in disgust.

Before they'd left, the Queen turned to big dead Rago's body and used her absurdly sharp claws to begin butchering the mummified meat left over with brutal efficiency. The resulting conversation had sent a chill through Jade's spine.

"Still hungry?" Jade had asked, watching in morbid fascination as the Queen severed and bundled piles of stripped Ogre meat. "I figured you'd be full for a week after er… power-sucking him into jerky."

"Do not be foolish," the Queen responded, finishing her task with a grim flourish of gripping the ogre's massive skull, and with a simply twist of her wrist, wrenched it free. Jade had lifted her arms up to guard against any splashing that may have taken place with the act, but then remembered there wasn't a drop of fluid left in the big guy to lose.

"Do you know nothing of spiders?" the Queen had asked, adding the skull to the bundle, and binding it tightly in silk. "We do not eat solid food like I left behind. My venom dissolved his insides completely and then I drank it. If I had put him in a cocoon first, I would have been able to liquidate the rest of him. But I am not a messy eater."

She'd looked up at Jade and smirked, "And I knew I would need to feed you, as well."

It had taken a minute to process that, but when she had, she'd lifted both hands in protest, "Whoa! Wait a sec, hold on! You want me to EAT that guy?"

Her words were undercut when the mention of eating produced a low shameful growl from her stomach.

The Queen smirked and stated calmly, "It tried to eat you, Jade. Now you get to return the favor. I find role-reversal is the greatest spice of all. I learned that from my sisters."

Jade had decided that ominous statement warranted silence.

The young Chan's internal reverie was cut short when she looked up and noticed the Queen staring down at her, having twisted her humanoid portion nearly one-hundred and eighty degrees around while the rest of her continued to climb at her leisure.

"I had a thought," the Queen stated calmly. Then before Jade could protest, she reached out and grabbed her around the waist and began rubbing Jade's whole body up and down against the rough coarse fur of her abdomen.

"Hey! What the-" Jade sputtered, struggling in the Queen's firm grip, "Stop that! What are you- hey- Stop, dammit!" she cried, twisting around.

Finally, the Queen stopped, looking satisfied with herself. "Finished. That ogre was not the only predator that stalks the borders of my territory. I need you to smell strongly of myself. That should ensure commoner Yōkai keep their hands off what is mine."

"You could have warned me!" Jade snapped, resuming her tight grip on the Queen's abdomen. "And stop treating me like property!"

That earned her a very Uncle-esque smack. "Remember our deal, Weaver-to-be. I could have but didn't, and I will treat to you as I see fit."

Jade growled through her teeth, but chose to just groan and changed the subject. "Why do you look different now?"

"Different?" the Queen asked, finally reaching her cave.

"Before you were like this huge spider, then you were all Playboy centerfold. Now you're… uh… like a mix, I guess?"

"Ah," the Queen nodded, then smacked her again, ignoring Jade's squeal of protest. "We will need to work on your vocabulary. But as to your question, the human guise was an illusion of the grandest class. A glamour, which I designed a long time ago. YOU will learn to create such things if you dutifully follow my instructions. And you will. Both my spider form and this form are merely natural configurations of my body I can choose as the situation warrants it."

Jade was about to ask, "So you're like a Transformer?" but had the feeling that would be a smack-able offense and bit her tongue.

At the mouth of the cave, the Queen paused and reached back, pulling Rago's giant skull from her webs and securing it to the wall directly above the entrance to the cave. Its ruined face stared out in a clear message to the rest of The Emptiness.

"Lesson 1, child," the Queen explained matter-of-factly, "There is no such thing as having too many skulls guarding the entrance to your domain."

"I'll… uh… make a note of that," Jade nervously laughed as she rode. The Queen walked past the grim new decoration and into the darkness of her cave.

"Lesson 2, by the way," the Queen added, "is to always mark your territory well. It is an annoyance to constantly need to kill those who take liberties with your possessions."

"You didn't have many friends growing up, did you?" Jade stated dryly, expecting and weathering the resulting smack dutifully. It almost reminded her of home, but Uncle hit harder.

"Enough foolishness," the Queen muttered in annoyance. "Now, when was the last time you bled?"

There was another long pause, and Jade could feel her whole body blush with her. "W-what?!"

"You are a woman, yes?" the Queen asked dryly, turning to face her fully with her arms inside her sleeves.

"Well… y-yeah, so?!" Jade sputtered, not liking the direction of this conversation AT ALL. The LAST thing she wanted to do was discuss her monthlies with an evil old spider.

"So, for the Implantation to be most successful, we will need to proceed during your next menstruation," the Queen supplied patiently, but clearly annoyance was written into all six eyes.

"Oh…" Jade muttered, looking down at the abdomen beneath her, wondering if her blush would set fire to the fur she was sitting on. Finally, she managed to mumble out a weak, "…'bout three weeks ago…"

"Good," the Queen nodded satisfied. "We should not have much time to wait then."

"Brace yourself, Young Spider-in-training," the Queen stated calmly. "Soon the real work will begin."

XXX

"Is this really necessary?" Jade griped as she was carefully and completely sown into a thick and huge spider web. Her arms, legs and forehead tightly bound, but her bare torso fully exposed.

She'd waited anxiously for this day, knowing the procedure couldn't begin until she was on her period for some weird reason. Each passing day of waiting more of a torture than the last.

'_As if dealing with my monthlies wasn't bad enough_,' she had grumbled, remembering needing to take care of that sort of shopping herself back home. The idea to entrusting that task to one of the boys during their shopping excursions had been absolutely unacceptable.

The anxiety grew to the point that she considered trying to hide it when it finally came, but dropped that ludicrous thought quickly. She'd have no means to do that, and would just embarrass herself to attempt it.

So when the time came, the Queen was informed, and without pause, she whisked up Jade, moved to a dark corner of her lair and began creating the web she now found herself bound to. No time was wasted; Jade suspected the Queen knew before she told her, using those strange spider senses to smell it on her or something equally gross. She'd guessed The Queen had waited for confirmation as some sort of proof of their covenant and Jade's own resolve.

Jade was starting to regret letting the Queen know as the old spider secured her limbs and body with additional threads attached to the wall.

"Yes," the Queen finally answered, instructing her to try to move where she lay. Jade twisted and fidgeted without managing to budge and inch.

"This weaving is not like a normal web meant to vibrate and inform," the old Spider explained to her bound ward. "It will immobilize you as much as possible without paralytic venom or spell. Either of which would be counterproductive, due to the sensitivity of the procedure. Pain numbing spells also cannot be cast for they may damage the exposed eggs."

"You will not move while this is happening, but you will feel everything," the Queen declared. "The bindings have a spell woven in to insure you do not lose consciousness."

"So, I'm gonna to be awake?" Jade ventured. Her stomach would have dropped at the thought but that guy was already in one of her feet.

"Yes, you must be. The procedure itself will be a very physical and invasive act. It will bring enormous pain. You must bear it, seeing this thing done successfully will be my battle." Her eyes narrowed and she reached over, stroking Jade's hair away from her face. "Yours will come after."

"Mine?" she frowned, looking down at her restraints. 'How am I expected to BATTLE anything?'

"Once secured, the Vessel will fight you, try to overwhelm you. Your spirit must match it; force it to accept your will. You will be its bearer now. This may even define the nature of your young, so if you wish to live past their birth, use all your strength to assert your dominance now."

She sighed, and tied her long white hair back with a length of webbing. "Rejection will bring death for you both, so do not waver in your resolve, Little Weaver-to-be.

"And know this," she stated sharply. "I will not make this as painless as I can. You will thrash hence the web. I must be precise. It will be painful because success is my only goal as I create a cavity without killing you and force your skin and muscles to accommodate the addition, whilst simultaneously connecting the Vessel completely to your blood vessels and nerves. THAT is where all of my focus must be. Not your comfort."

Jade swallowed down the bile threatening to crawl up her throat, trying not to picture the Queen's cold description of the procedure.

"This will be agony, child. I can only offer you two comforts. A rock to bite down on, and a silken blindfold to shield your eyes from the sights to come," the Queen told her.

The Queen picked up a thick but flat rock and held it in front of Jade's face.

The young Chan was tempted to forego, to impress with taking this head on. But despite what the Queen said, this was no battle before her, even if some poet type would probably call it another kind of fight. Even not thinking of it sent tremor through her which were arrested by the bindings.

Curious as to the limits of her restraint, Jade tested the web in earnest. She couldn't even turn her head it seemed. Oh, so much a bad day.

"Is that a no?" The queen asked, her patience waning.

'_I have been through, enough. I've been tough enough. I don't need to make this worse_,' Jade admitted to herself. There was no feeling of shame at this thought, just weariness. They had truly ground her down, she admitted.

"I'll take the rock, don't wanna bite off my tongue, right?" she answered. "But I don't want the blindfold. I'm not gonna hide from whatever this is, especially if I'm gonna feel it all, regardless…"

The Queen simply nodded, not challenging the statement.

Opening her mouth Jade let the Queen gently place the rock between her teeth and closed her mouth enough to hold it in place. Reflexively her tongue licked the rock. It tasted like dust.

Taking deep breaths Jade looked to Jackie's teachings, trying to clear her head of dread on what was about to happen.

The Queen took a deep breath, and then reached out her clawed and armored hands over to Jade's bare stomach. She seemed to silently be getting a feel for the dimensions she was to work with.

Jade put on a brave face, and resolved boldly that she could take whatever was to come just fine, lying through her teeth of course. But like Hell would she show weakness to the awful Spider-Hag she found herself stuck in this miserable deal with.

'Did she wash her hands first?' Jade wondered, as she watched the Queen seem to feel around her stomach. Then she almost laughed at the absurdity of her thought. They were in a dank dusty cave full of spiders, dust and old bones. This was not the time to be wondering about hygiene.

**Body horror surgery begins here. Want to avoid? Begin again at bolded letters**

Finally the Queen reached out, placing a claw just below Jade's sternum, and lightly trailed it down, around her navel, until stopping just above her sex.

'_Drawing marks?_' Jade wondered.

Then she noticed the thin line of growing purple trailing the path of the Queen's claw. Her eyes widened as the line of wet purple spread and darkened and the skin on either side seemed to open and part. Dawning horror set in when the Queen's front legs reached out, placed their hook-like claws in the seeping line, then spread them wide to both sides, opening Jade up for the world to see.

There was a single moment of numb shock as the action registered in the young Oni's mind. Then came the pain.

Jade screamed loud and rough against the stone, straining against the bindings around her bare wrists and ankles, hissing and crying out weakly. She'd thought she was a tough girl and resolved not to cry before her cold taskmistress went about this awful task. But those sorts of brave thoughts were long forgotten.

The deep wound felt like a line of fire burning and screaming down to her center, the worst pain Jade had ever felt. Amazingly, the pain somehow multiplied when the Queen grabbed the edges of her flesh and pulled them taut to either side by threads, keeping her abdominal cavity gaping open.

Jade fought a failing battle not to look on the dark and wet purple meat within that was never meant to see the outside.

There was no following the progress or escape into meditation. Only pain and the creaking of stone, nothing else existed, not even her.

Tears spilled down her eyes, her voice too raw to scream. All she could do was gasp and whimper as she tried not to watch as the Queen's hands and clawed legs, bury up to the wrist in her guts, to begin rearranging her organs and viscera to suit her dark purposes.

Jade felt every twitch of the fingers and claws deep inside her as the queen went about the messy work of preparing the way for the Vessel, soon to be placed within. After eons, the Queen looked upon her work, satisfied the path was now prepared, and then stepped back.

"No, don't go, don't leave me like this!" Jade tried to scream around the stone, her vision blurry and bent like a fishbowl, delirious with pain.

'_If she dies while I am like this. Game over_,' a more cynical part of Jade noted with a detachment that frightened her the next second.

Having stepped far enough back, the Queen stood tall as she could before Jade on all eight legs. The reason became immediately apparent when she jackknifed her swollen abdomen underneath her legs, and below her. The huge segmented underside was directly under the Queen now. She reached down, and placed her wet purple-stained fingers over the plating, then seemed to tense.

Were Jade not so weak from the agony and stress, she might have screamed when the Queen plunged her hands downwards, into her own abdomen. If the act caused her any sort of pain, she hid it perfectly.

'_I hope it hurts_,' some part of Jade thought with a black frightful rage. '_I hope it hurts worse than anything you could do to me, you spider-bitch!_'

But Jade knew it was a lie, even as she thought it. Nothing could hurt worse than what she was feeling.

Gooey fluorescent green viscera splattered as she old spider hissed and dug around through her own body. Finally, she took hold and pulled, yanking something large and throbbing free from the wound, and into the open air with a wet sucking rip.

It was webbed with thick dark blue veins, the rest pale blue and semitransparent. Thousands of little gelatinous spheres moved around within. The part of Jade not struck dumb by sheer agony, fear and rage was reminded vaguely of frog eggs.

Jade felt bile rise up and splash against the stone held between her teeth, trapped, forcing her to swallow it down as she scoped the dimensions of the awful Vessel now bare in all its glory before its soon-to-be host.

The entire organ seemed to fight the Queen with every step, twisting shifting and wriggling in her grip like a giant maggot. She seemed to struggle with it as she stepped back towards Jade, holding the Vessel firmly but gently, like a newborn.

"More difficult, than expected. But now it is the most delicate stage of the procedure. I place the Vessel in you and will go about connecting you. That will be more pain. Then I will close it into you," her voice gave away her pain, sounding hoarse and raw, but still firm in its task.

Jade tried to shake her head in protest, straining against the bindings over her skull. But it served no use but wasted energy as the Queen stepped forward and lowered the awful Vessel into the prepared cavity.

The pain of it placed inside Jade's open wound, the way it bucking around inside her roughly against her organs, was impossible to describe.

"It's too big!" Jade tried to scream around the stone, "Too big, it won't fit! Nononono!"

But again, the Queen paid her no mind as she worked through the organs calmly and silently, hardwiring the defiant eggsac into Jade's very tissue. She sowed it into Jade with her natural thread, using the skill of an experienced surgeon. She rooted the unruly vessel down, tying it directly into her veins and arteries, her lifeblood beginning to mingle with the foreign body as connection was established.

The Queen seemed oblivious to her own wound as she worked. Her abdomen was torn open and seeping fluorescent green fluid all over the webbing behind her. She'd not even bothered to close the gash, having immediately turned to the gross incision she'd made, wasting no time in continuing this horrific surgery.

With every connection, Jade sensed a strange pulsing within her despite the pain. A gross realization that this pulsating disgusting mass was literally becoming one with her flesh, becoming a part of HER. It and every little awful life it contained. Soon, she could no longer tell the limits between where the Vessel ended and she began.

That was the last straw. With that realization the stone within Jade's mouth shattered and exploded, even momentarily startling the Queen into looking up.

Dignity died the moment Jade felt the sack begin to connect with her. With her mouth now free, the desperate part of Jade driven mad with pain and horror began pleading with the Queen to stop as the rest of her watched, numbly. As if her body was shouting the words of another with her own ruined voice; begging the Queen to take back their deal, or just let her die on the web, split open like a fish. Anything would have been better than the suffering forced upon her beneath her cold surgical grasp.

But if the Queen even heard her cries, she made no note of them. She was not to be deterred.

Finally, with the final connection sown tight, the Vessel seemed to finally calm and settle within Jade's body. The Queen took a breath, and retracted her limbs to look over her progress.

The old spider sighed and patted the pulsing organ affectionately, her expression proud and motherly, her six eyes tracing the tiny transparent eggs floating within. A moment passed, and then she began slowly and almost reluctantly pulling the sides of Jade's stomach over it.

The Queen's dexterous digits threaded Jade tightly shut, starting with the muscle tissue and working her way up as Jade was stitched up like a Christmas turkey.

'_Jade Chan will be our main course, stuffed with spider and, marinated in orange sauce. Would you prefer the potatoes mashed or baked good sir?_' some mad portion of her mind commented as she weakly observed the process.

**Body Horror Surgery, End.**

Finally a thick webbed scar arced over the huge taut bulge of Jade's stomach.

"My battle is done, child," The Queen explained, her voice barely above a whisper, tired and strained. "Now it is your turn."

Satisfied with her work, the Queen turned to her own open wound and began stoically stitching herself back shut as well.

With the limbs retracted and the wound sealed shut, Jade would have slumped in relief if she could. Her torso was numb. She couldn't feel it or think of how grotesque it must appear stretched over the eggsack within.

Relief was a lie, Jade told herself. The Vessel flared within her, its watermelon dimensions announced with burning insistence. She thought she might have moved in spite of the web. Another force was roused now, from her chest, surging like a dark tide toward the fire to smother it.

Part of her wanted it to. The fire was the root of her suffering. But that was to give up. And while many voices for many reasons demanded: Yes, and? Another rose and was joined by more that were repulsed at the mere idea of slipping away.

With hands that weren't she reached over the black tide. And grabbed the fire. Even as it burned her she refused to let it be swept away.

A three-way struggle became the universe. The Fire that would burn, that promised to devour her some day if not today. The black tide that would extinguish and then lull her to sleep without waking, carrying her away to beyond. And Jade's own will that refused to submit to one and declared it would master the other.

It was a second, it was an eternity. Yet the flood passed, the flow weakened, and at last vanished into canals flowing about the fire. Her hands let go and it settled into place to simmer.

Darkness retreated; she realized her eyes had been wide open the entire time. But she could not see for the light, though she welcomed it through the pain it brought now. Pain, at least, was proof she was alive, and she'd won.

The Queen smiled satisfied, and reached down, severing the bonds that held the young Oni down. No longer supported, Jade's head had tilted to the side, eyes open but seeing nothing. The stress of the surgery and the spiritual exhaustion from her conflict with the dark presences nestled within was too much. Even in her victory, her awareness fled though magic kept her barely conscious. Tears continued to squeeze down her pale blue cheeks as her blank red eyes stared out into space.

"Well done, Young Spider," the Queen whispered, lifting the waking spell over her young, victorious, charge.

"Rest now and feast upon awakening. You have earned it," the ancient creature whispered. Dreamless warm darkness enfolded Jade as relief carried her away to rest.

XXX

The first thing Jade became aware of was a thick sticky dryness, both in her throat and over her eyes. She groaned, and the air through her throat made it sound cracked and thick like she was breathing through a dusty tunnel.

She weakly reached up, each movement met with a numb protest, and began wiping a thick layer of crust from her eyes. Her hands felt clumsy, still asleep along with the rest of her, as she went about wiping her face enough to weakly pry her eyes partly open.

Jade was thankful for the pitch blackness of the cave, she'd had a strong suspicion that any degree of light would have finished her off where she lay. Her head was killing her, aching with a pounding and rhythmic throb, forcing out another groan and making her lay still for a moment gathering her faculties.

'_Urgh… how long was I asleep?_' she thought, usually she needed to oversleep for hours to feel even a third this gross. '_What did I even do last ni-_'

With a start, she bolted up, was overwhelmed with dizziness, and fell backwards hitting her head against something thankfully rather soft and springy. The Old Spider apparently wrapped her in some sort of non-sticky cocoon sleeping bag after the-

'_NO_,' Jade thought firmly, '_Not thinking about that. No. Nuh uh. No way, José._'

But even still, she couldn't help reaching down under the smooth silk, in some way hoping it was a bad dream. But no, her hands felt it almost immediately, and she could even see it bulging great and terrible through her web sleeping bag.

The skin over her stomach was stretched over a massive watermelon-sized dome. Her skin was taut as a drum, and felt alien under her hands. Like it wasn't actually a part of her, and too be fair, most of it WASN'T. Or rather, that's what she'd have liked to have thought.

With just her fingers she felt the raised but smooth arc of scar-tissue running the entire length of her midsection, annoyed to note that her innie was now an outtie as she went. But she couldn't feel any of the Queen's stitching. Had she healed over it already with magic or something?

She was reminded of her headache during her exploration, and bitterly sighed, '_Meet Jade Chan, most pregnant thirteen-year-old in history. This will be a cautionary tale for every Girl-Turned-Demon for years to come. When it comes to big floating demon faces; Just say no._'

She risked sitting up, but was predictably unable to for two reasons; the cocoon was anchored down to the web beneath her and so afforded her only so much give, especially in her weakened state. The second and most unpleasant reason being her new massively swollen midsection. It felt like hauling a tank to try to move it at all, and utterly destroyed her sense of balance.

'_Whatever!_' she growled, '_I'm not gonna be laid up in here with THAT all day! Just think of it as weight training, Jade…_'

Jade grit her teeth and began to slowly but surely wormed her way out of the cocoon inch by inch, getting predictably caught up when her stomach reached the mouth of the cocoon. That required carefully rolling the bag over it before she could proceed.

Finally with one last triumphant shift, she was completely free. Her elation momentarily pushed her headache aside. It was enough to make her shoot to her feet and pump her small fist into the air.

Or… it would have been if she was able to stand. But trying to get up with her stomach so very much in the family way was apparently its own ordeal.

'_This isn't fair! Normal pregnant chicks get nine months of slowly getting used to this crap, I went from zero-to-sixty overnight!_' she roared in her once-again-throbbing skull.

She tried to turn onto her front so she could push herself to her feet from there, but she couldn't seem to summon the needed balance or energy to complete the task. It reminded her of a turtle on its back, only this time she was the damn turtle!

She blinked as she remembered something rather obvious, and then sighed, slapping her face in annoyance. Taking it slowly she simply floated to her feet, righting herself then lowering down. '_We will never speak of this again, Jade._'

Almost immediately upon releasing her levitation, she stumbled and grabbed the nearest wall for support, her great stomach hanging down like a fifty-pound monkey clutching her front. She let out a growl, and used the wall to help her manage to clumsily waddle for several steps before losing her balance and catching herself with her levitation again.

'_That's it! I'm just gonna float 'til this Vessel stops making me a damn weeble-wobble!_' she resolved, floating to the central area of the tunnels. '_And then when I'm back on Earth I'm gonna write Mom a loving and heartfelt thank you letter for doing this with ME for nine months!_'

The Queen was apparently waiting for her, reclining patiently on some webbing. Jade glared at her, since this current state was all her fault. But she wasn't about to earn a smack with her head killing her like it was.

There was also a niggling hint of envy too, that the old Spider seemed to have recovered so completely from her own ordeal from the event, while Jade had traded her fleet-footed agility for the gait of a drunk penguin. How was THAT fair!?

"I'm impressed," the Queen stated in her usual calm detached tone. "You woke up sooner than I expected."

"How long was I asleep," Jade asked, her voice a croak to her ears. She winced from the sudden look the teacher gave, and added, "Uh, Sensei!"

"Very good," she stated satisfied at the title. "And you were asleep for two days. How are you feeling?"

'_Two days?!_' Jade's mind boggled. But she didn't say it. Her Sensei, as the Spider insisted she be called, would lose her temper quickly if the exact question she asked was not addressed. Jade considered playing tough, but decided she simply lacked the resolve, blaming it on the gross spider-pregnancy.

"I'm sore, and my head feels like a truck parked on it, Sensei," she stated dryly.

"I would hit you for your word choices," the Queen warned. "But you are in a delicate state so I will decline. For now."

'_Don't do me any favors, SENSEI…_' Jade thought bitterly, and then blinked when something was tossed her way. Sluggish as she may have been, her reflexes were still sharp enough to catch the object in the air.

Upon inspection, it was a web bundle of thick strips of Rago. Jade had been reluctant to eat any of something that could somewhat talk during the first day in the caves. But hunger had won out eventually, and to her horror and delight, Rago was delicious. Perhaps it was hunger or "role-reversal" being the best spice, or maybe Ogre was just good eating. Either way, Jade felt her mouth water slightly at the strips of dry blue meat before her just waiting to be torn into.

She happily pulled some free and took a big bite, enjoying the tang. It was somewhat like beef, but sweeter. She wished she had some really strong five-alarm hot sauce to go along with it.

"Your headache is merely your body and young screaming for nutrients. Eat your fill. There is work to be done, you already wasted two days," the Queen admonished.

Jade's mouth was already full when the Queen had spoken up, but she hurriedly swallowed the tasty bite of ogre down, and shouted, "I was recovering from like the most Cronenberg experience a person can go through! Gah-!"

She winced, rubbing her head where she was smacked. '_Yeah, should've seen THAT coming…_'

Jade pouted and continued eating as the Queen spoke, "You can't do anything involved now, but you WILL become accustomed to The Weave. For a spider, The Weave is as natural and effortless as breathing. It will be one of the most important lessons I can teach you."

"What about er… my condition, SENSEI?" Jade asked, struggling with her words to as not to earn a smack. "This is temporary, right?"

"Indeed," she nodded. "Soon the Vessel will recede deeper into you, painfully move through your organs, around your spine dragging several of your organs with it, and settling on your back. This will begin the formation of a new abdomen. It will be the first of many glorious changes to come."

The Old Spider's almost excited tone made Jade's lips pull into a frown that almost reached her chin. "Um… yay?"

Jade then sighed and rubbed her eyes, "So, can we FINALLY talk clothes, Sensei?"

"Yes, about that," the Queen stated dryly. "If you want them so badly, I suggest you learn to weave some."

"Awwww… Ouch!" she winced, rubbing her fresh smack.

XXX

After the meal of a truly startling amount of Rago, Jade found herself saddled with the Queen's first lesson. She'd been presented with an intricate pattern woven by the Queen, which she said was a simple starter pattern at that, and a large bundle of sticky thread. Her assignment was to use the thread to recreate the pattern.

Two hours later, Jade was cursing under her breath as she sat awkwardly cross-legged before her arts and crafts supplies. Her hands were grossly sticky and she was staring at an unsightly squiggle of sticky thread before her, almost as a gross mockery of the intricately woven snowflake right beside it.

'_Argh! I hated art class in school, and it follows me into hell!_' she groaned, '_I died and being screwed with by a giant spider as an art teacher is my eternal punishment!_'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a very unwelcome Oni face appearing to her left. Jade thrust out her lower lip and looked away defiantly.

"Congratulations," Tarakudo exclaimed, sounding almost genuine as he looked over her bloated beached-whale body. "I KNEW you could do it. Nobody who could bear my Mark without succumbing completely would be weak enough to die from just that. You have quite a glow about you; by the way. Motherhood suits you."

"Just THAT?" Jade snapped, looking her solid red eyes into his cold yellow. "Do you have ANY idea what she did to me?! What I WATCHED and FELT her to do me?!"

Tarakudo's face seemed to bob up and down in a mock shrug, "We all make sacrifices for power, Your Majesty. My path was not so pleasant either. Granted my trials weren't quite so… visceral… as yours, but trust me. You wouldn't have enjoyed them any better."

"Whatever, Tarakudork, and drop the 'motherhood' thing! I'm only thirteen, and that is like SO creepy!" She pouted, looking away and back to her work.

"Back in my day, you'd have been married by now," Tarakudo replied, dryly.

"Welcome to the 20th century," Jade snapped back without looking up.

The Oni King floated closer, looking over her work appraisingly. "Ah, surrealism. Never understood that practice myself, but to each their own."

He was suddenly besieged by a torrent of stones passing harmlessly through his giant demonic face. He frowned and deadpanned, "Oh right. Hormones."

Tarakudo faded when his words unleashed a second and much more ferocious volley.

XXX

"Urp," Jade groaned, covering her mouth and leaning forwards, fighting a losing battle to keep the few bites of lunch she'd swallowed down.

It'd been a month since she'd woken up from her nightmare surgery and had to deal with the throbbing hyper-pregnant bulge she'd woken up to. Since then it'd been tedious task after tedious task set to her by the old spider.

It was more than enough to make Jade long for Ms. Hartman. And to think she used to think SHE was strict. Who was she to accuse that dick, Drew, about perspective given all she'd lived through in the past month?

The Old Spider had claimed the more heavy stuff would begin once Jade regained some mobility, and wasn't in such a delicate way.

'_Delicate,_' Jade scoffed as she thought back on that conversation, hand still over her mouth as her stomach protested. '_I feel like a lot of things but "delicate" ain't one of 'em._'

But the unfortunate reality was, aside from eating and sleeping, these tasks were all Jade had to DO. It was great incentive, really. Though Jade cursed at her lack of any sort of recreation constantly. She replayed scenes from TV or comics or movies and games in her head as some way to entertain herself during the eternal maddening silence.

But it wasn't the same, so all she could do was work. As a result, she'd actually gotten through several weave patterns of advancing difficulty. Originally she'd had trouble picturing how the first one could be a 'beginner' pattern, but she'd learned quickly what THAT meant. But with nothing better to do, she got through them all the same. It was actually starting to become second nature, even.

Jade's task had changed today though, originally to her excitement. '_Wasn't THAT naïve of me._'

"You need to understand the world in which you are entering," the Queen had told her. "You are to observe the spiders who seek my realm. Study their movements, catalogue how many types there are. Compare them. You WILL be tested."

And so, Jade spent the last several hours in the mouth of the cave, watching spiders crawl by her while making little checkmarks with a sharp bit of stone whenever something new appeared. It was better than watching paint dry, but barely.

As was usual for the Queen's assignments, though, there were incentives for completing the task well. In this case, if she managed to get these stupid skittery spiders sorted out, she'd teach Jade how to weave her own hammock!

'_No more hard floors, no more needing to get cut out of webs, I'd catalogue a million of these things for THAT_,' Jade declared firmly, '_which I am because there seems to BE that many…_'

A sudden flare up of her stomach caused Jade to surrender the fight quickly and hurry over to the corner. Falling to her knees she upended the meager contents of her stomach into the old wooden bucket the Queen had provided. It was full now, so Jade would need to dump it over the cliff-face again.

From where she was, it was thankfully a short trip, but still a gross distasteful task. Not to mention embarrassing upending a bucket of her own sick into the wilderness. But she had to do it, since she knew she'd need to use the bucket again soon enough. The Queen hated how she disposed of it, though, saying it attracted "Akaname" to the base of the mountain. Whatever THOSE were.

Over the last week, the omnipresent presence of the Vessel was beginning to recede into her. No longer hanging like a disgusting pregnant hump over her front. But unfortunately as much as Jade wanted a flat tight belly again, even with the addition of the massive scar now lining its front, she also wanted to occasionally EAT.

Her stomach and other organs were literally being pushed and shoved around as if the demonic eggsack was playing a game of musical chairs with her insides. Twisting around them, slowly reaching her spine centimeter by centimeter. It was playing havoc with her diet, and giving her a feeling of prevailing nausea. Not to mention how it made her sides swell and pinch unnaturally. But at least she could walk like a person again, even if most of her travel was back and forth to the cave entrance with a bucket of ex-lunch.

But the Queen insisted that she eat, regardless. "Vomit it later if you must, but you will eat. You are feeding a legion now, and I will not allow them to starve because of your discomfort."

Jade looked back at the pile of mystery meat the Queen had supplied her plenty of. She felt sick just looking at it. But knew she'd try to eat some with the return trip, regardless.

'_Why do I torture myself like this? Oh, right, because I got myself into this mess in the first place_,' she glared bitterly.

Jade stared hatefully down at where the Vessel had once taken up space in her front. "I hate you all, you know that? You're awful and gross; I am just THRILLED that you apparently just raise yourselves because I am sure as hell not! Let's make one thing clear, I am your BABYSITTER. Not your MOM."

Jade reached the edge of the cave and angrily hurled the bucket, keeping one hand firmly on it so as not to lose it into the empty wilderness. Her declaration to the Vessel made her feel a little better already; maybe she'd be able to squeeze in a few bites after all.

As if in response to the positive thought, Jade suddenly fell back to her knees and upended more of her last meal over the cliff edge.

XXX

"Very good," the Queen muttered to herself softly, as her clawed fingers dexterously probed and prodded the fleshly mass hanging over Jade's behind.

The young Chan winced and bit down on a moan from the feeling of the old spider's claws tracing and checking the far-too-sensitive mass of soft tissue that had been weighing Jade down for months now. True to the Queen's words, the vessel had moved slowly and disgustingly around her side, taking several of her major organs along for the ride.

Now the squishy and bulbous mass of soft tissue hung behind her as a constant reminder. Throwing off her balance and forcing her to walk with an awkward hunchbacked gait, slumped forward to compensate for the imbalance.

'_C'mon, hurry it up!_' Jade thought at the Queen as hard as she could. '_This is NOT how I wanna spend my One Year Anniversary! Having my butt-tumor felt up!_'

Jade sighed weakly, '_A year of the most boring busywork I could ever dream of! Just weaving and spider watching, and chores while my stomach sucks out onto my spine…_'

After a moment, the Queen let go. She indicated Jade turn around with a gesture, and with a bitter grumble and some effort, she did so. "Your abdomen is developing very well, Little Weaver. With this, most of the internal changes in your body will be set for the next stage in your transformation."

Jade nodded, having heard this all before. Though the Queen was always annoyingly vague about what would come next. '_She trying not to spoil the surprise? Or does she just not wanna admit that she's just guessing half the time?_'

Ignorant and uncaring of her charge's bitter thoughts, the Queen continued on. "You should be happy to know that you are no longer in danger of affecting the Vessel adversely with the flux of manipulated etheric energies."

Jade blinked, "…What, Sensei?"

She got a smack, but it was an unenthusiastic one. But by now she could read her teacher's moods via her frequent disciplinary gestures. It was actually quite fascinating. In a painful way. "I will begin teaching you spells now. It is no longer a danger to the eggs."

"Really?!" Jade exclaimed, her face lighting up. She threw her fist into the air and gave an excited whoop at the prospect of FINALLY learning some cool stuff. She would have jumped as well, in normal circumstances. But unfortunately that maneuver was currently beyond her unless she wanted her organ pocket to disgustingly flop up and down.

"However," the Queen stated sharply, cutting off her protégé's shameful excitement, "your abdomen is still completely exposed. Wild magic is no longer a risk to the eggs developing within you, but physical trauma IS until your shell has developed. Is that clear?"

Jade knit her brow and grumbled bitterly, but managed an unenthusiastic, "Yes, Sensei."

"Good," the Queen nodded, and then gestured away. "You may go. We are done for the day. Happy Anniversary, Young Spider."

'_I'll "young spider" your face!_' Jade thought, too annoyed to notice her insult was nonsensical.

Not for the first time, the Young Chan wondered if she could halt this whole process in its tracks if she just reached back and sliced the offending mass off. Perhaps it'd be her very last chance before anything permanent happened. But as usual she quickly reasoned the thought away as hopeful nonsense.

'_I feel my stomach rumble further back these days. I bet half my guts are in there_,' she frowned bitterly, '_Face it, Jade. We're all in._'

She reached out and took the one article of clothing she had to her name, if one was feeling generous enough to consider it as such.

It was a harness of sorts that Jade wore over her shoulders. Its soft web-like mesh cupped and supported her vulnerable abdomen to keep the delicate meatsack from jostling while she walked. But it was a horrible and embarrassing thing to wear, and made her feel constantly aware of the tumorous mass' presence.

The name it brought to mind and had stuck since then did not help matters; The Butt Bra. She'd wanted clothes the whole time she was here, and what did she FINALLY get as a gift from her adoring Queen? A Butt Bra. Even to Jade's largely non-existent fashion sense, this was an unforgivable affront. Though she hatefully admitted she needed it.

Grudgingly she slid the harness over her shoulders and winced when she cupped the mass to slowly raise it into the net. Jade tried not to think about how her half-formed abdomen felt like a melon wrapped in a greasy sheet, with a layer of fat under the sheet. If she ever tried to walk faster than a brisk shuffle, even with the Butt Bra, it would shift and wiggle too far out of line and hurt like hell.

'_But as bad as that is_,' she muttered standing up and adjusting the harness a bit before walking off to her personal chamber. '_I think it's still better than imagining my skin being an exoskeleton. I'm pretty used to bones and skin, thanks._'

The Young Oni looked down at her body, imaging it hard and segmented. Then quickly shook the thought off. '_If it's anything like the rest of this theme park ride's been, that part isn't gonna be fun._'

Jade sighed and ran her hand up and down her thankfully taut and firm tummy, as she'd gotten in the habit of doing ever since she got it back from the awful clutches of the Vessel.

'_Yeah, the whole egg-tumor I feel every time I move or wear the damn Butt Bra is pretty awful,_' she reasoned. '_But not NEARLY as humiliating as the swollen pregnant look. I'm still just thirtee- uh… I guess fourteen now? Still!_'

'_I gotta admit,_' she added with a smirk, feeling the ridges of her massive surgical scar. '_This giant scar here makes me look pretty badass. And I earned it!_'

With that accomplishment fresh in her mind, she walked up to her homemade hammock and carefully eased herself in. The soft silk made her practically purr as she snuggled into it, as it always did. Of all the lessons in the past year, making and learning how to improve her own bedding was definitely her favorite. One of the few tasks put to her with immediate and practical use, rather than theoretical stuff, or studying and thought exercises.

Jade carefully reached down and pulled up a web-satchel of whatever poor Yokai this meat happened to be. She took a bite and quickly recognized the distinct greasiness of Tanuki. '_Well that's good, haven't had Tanuki in awhile…_'

"Happy Anniversary, Your Majesty," Tarakudo smirked appearing at her side. Jade sent him a weak glare but her heart wasn't in it. For the past year her only intelligent contact was the Spider Queen and Lord of Shadowkhan. That fact alone was more than enough to slowly wear away at her negative feelings for the King.

She did not forgive him for playing with her life, but she was far too lonely to do nothing but hate him either. Even if the big evil floating jerk deserved that forever. But thinking that way did her no good in the now, so she just cast him a vague shrug.

"I figured I'd stop by and congratulate you on your impressive progress" he exclaimed casually. "I knew you were tough, but this is more than I could ask of most of my officers."

"What's up, Big Giant Head?" she muttered, taking another bite of the late raccoon-dog. "Has it REALLY been a year? I mean, it FEELS like twenty, but it's not like there's a way for me to track the days…"

"A year indeed," he grinned, displaying every fang. "How time flies when we're young. You'll be able to track the flow of time better when you're further into your training, I assure you. Regardless of sunsets to count."

"Wheee, I can have a magic calendar! I've ALWAYS wanted one!" Jade clasped her hands and batted her eyelashes in mock excitement.

Tarakudo just laughed that smug all-knowing laugh, and nodded. "Admittedly, it didn't exactly tickle my fancy when I learned that trick, myself. But it's more useful than you may think."

She took a bite and began to mumble despite her mouth being full, "I'll take your word for it, Tarakudor-"

Jade suddenly bucked over, heaving and coughing beating her chest helplessly before pulling back and hacking something hard to the floor. She kept taking deep breaths as the scare passed, breathing hard and putting her food down in a sudden loss of appetite.

"Have to chew your food at least twenty times before swallowing, Champ," Tarakudo smirked, but she could tell he'd been taken off guard by her unexpected choking fit.

Tarakudo looked about to add something else, but paused and looked at the ground, raising one bushy eyebrow. "Or perhaps I spoke too soon."

"Huh?" Jade asked, leaning down and looking at where he stared at the floor. She immediately noticed it was the lump of food she'd hacked up, but the shape was…

She reached down slowly and picked up the lump coated in bits of chewed meat, slowly brushing it off and staring blankly at it, eyes wide.

It was one of her molars.

Almost on shocked autopilot, she reached into her mouth and touched the emptied space, the skin tender and soft. Then, carefully she prodded one of the other thick teeth with her index finger. It slipped and fell into her cheek with almost no resistance.

In horror, she reached over and grabbed the nearest web, shaking it like her life depended on it.

XXX

Jade sat in front of her teacher, red eyes wide and face pale as a robin's egg as the Queen looked into her mouth, now entirely bereft of her molars. Her lost teeth all sitting in a pile before the Arachnid Matron as she assessed Jade's recent affair. Jade looked weakly at the pile before her with longing. Tarakudo looked on from the side, vaguely interested in the development.

'_Those were my CHEWING teeth! I was USING those, y'know…_' she pouted weakly to nobody in particular.

Finally the Queen pulled back and nodded, "This indicates that your body is truly beginning to change along with the addition of the Vessel, in earnest. This is an occasion to rejoice, Young Spider. You are truly beginning to ascend to a higher lifeform beyond that of a mere Oni."

'_I don't feel much ASCENDED_,' Jade continued to pout, running her hands over her tooth pile. '_Too bad the tooth fairy is nowhere near here. I think this would earn me like enough to buy a car…_'

"Mere Oni?" Tarakudo asked in mock exception to the Queen. "Need I remind you that it's MY team you're playing on, Your Majesty, not the other way around?"

There was a hiss of anger from the Queen at the Shadowkhan Lord's presumptions, but the fact that Jade knew she couldn't DO anything about it tickled her slightly. It was a small and petty victory, but Jade was scraping the barrel for any sort of victory as it stood.

"Regardless," the Queen snapped, "I anticipated this outcome happening sooner than later. The transformation is moving along as planned."

"As PLANNED?!" Jade snapped, pulling her cheeks back and making the sides of her mouth plane to see. The purple and irritated gums on either side bereft of a single tooth. All she had left were the sharp front teeth, which at least let her speak without slurring her words. "How am I suppose to eat anything like this?! Dislocate my jaw and SWALLOW it?!"

Tarakudo snickered slightly, "You didn't know this, but my Plan B involved a Naga, not a Jorōgumo, so…"

"Be silent, Oni King," The Queen snapped, while smacking the hysterics out of Jade. Tarakudo rolled his eyes, and faded from sight.

Jade glared hatefully up at the Queen while rubbing her forehead, but the Queen just crossed her arms into her sleeves with an air of annoying aloofness. "I do not understand your anger, Young Spider. You SHOULD be celebrating. Chewing is for peasantry and beasts of burden. It is a shameful and debasing way to acquire sustenance. Now you can finally eat in a civilized manner."

"I've seen those SPIDERS chew, SENSEI," Jade muttered, looking defiantly up at her.

"Then you should have looked closer," the Queen scoffed, "Lesser spiders are capable of a gnawing and sawing motion with their mouths to get through the shells of tougher beasts their fangs cannot pierce. But that is not chewing, and my kind, our kind, has no need of such things since we have our strength, and fangs that cannot be denied."

"Our fangs, like our claws and every other part of us are weapons," she stated calmly. "Not famer's tools for grinding. I suggest you get used to the idea quickly, you will need to mash your food from now on."

Jade just looked down at her feet sullenly, '_First I had to get pregnant, now I gotta eat like a geriatric with dentures! When does the GOOD part happen?!_'

XXX

Pulling the length of non-adhesive webbing taut, Jade began gnawing on it furiously with angry tears in the corners of her eyes.

Over the last few days her mouth became a smorgasbord of changes, each of them achingly awful and disturbing.

In the place of her lost molars, tiny and curved hook-like fangs were emerging. They ached terribly, making her gums swell up. The only way to abate the pain even slightly was to teethe like a damn toddler, gnawing on thick lengths of web for even the slightest form of release like a girl possessed.

'_First I get hit by the worst kind of pregnancy ever, and then my teeth falling out like some old hag, now I'm a damn toddler again!_' Jade griped as she attacked the strand with all she had. '_It's like I jumped straight to twenty, then eighty, then all the way back to two!_'

That wasn't the least of the changes either; most of the sharp pain was centered in her two incisors. They'd begun painfully lengthening almost immediately following the loss of her molars. The two sharp teeth got to a point where she couldn't even close her mouth for fear of stabbing her tongue. But once they'd reached a certain length, Jade had felt two sharp pops at the root of each new saber tooth. Both suddenly jackknifed backward, hugging the roof of her mouth.

Experimentally, Jade had opened her mouth wide. With the strange sensation of flexing new muscles, the fangs had snapped back into place, ready to strike down on anything in her way like the Queen had done to finish off Rago.

'_It's ALMOST cool_,' Jade had thought as she observed the strange new function in a bucket of still water. '_If it wasn't for the fact that it's like the first really spidery thing I can do. I can't even pretend it's human anymore. Everything else was side show stuff, but THIS? This is my turning into a real monster…_'

Jade could feel the length of her flexible new fangs HOLLOWING. The insides emptying, and small cavities forming in the sharp tips, like syringes. Some blood flowed into her mouth from the holes as the hollowing continued, until it began grinding away at her sinus cavity. Since then there'd been a deep sinus-focused pressure in her skull. A steady throbbing of force cutting straight through to her brain.

She hadn't been able to sleep for what felt like days, just laying during what counted for night here in her hammock while gnawing on webs and trying to block out the mother of all sinus headaches that had been plaguing her non-stop.

In disgust, she spat out her web, and impatiently reached into her mouth to feel around for any sort of indication that this transformation was finally slowing down. To her surprise, a clawed hand shot out from seemingly nowhere and pulled her hand away.

"Do not be reckless, Spider Child," the Queen stated firmly looking down at her surprised charge from the ceiling. "You feel pain around and behind your nose, yes?"

Jade winced but nodded, her mouth too sore and swollen to form words unless she really had no other option.

"That pain is your venom glands forming," the Queen informed softly. "You must not prod your new fangs until your mouth has settled its transformation. You may not yet be immune to your own developing venom."

'_It's always something_,' Jade thought, too tired to be truly scared or shocked by the new threat.

"I have noticed a lack of focus in our daily sessions," the Queen went on. "You've not been resting as you should be."

'_Oh c'mon, is she gonna LECTURE me now?!_' Jade thought bitterly, bracing herself for the old hag to start verbally reaming her.

She gasped despite herself when the Queen quickly assumed her glamoured form. Jade hadn't seen it since her first meeting with the Spider Matron, but it was somehow more beautiful than she remembered.

'_Or maybe I'm just THAT desperate to see another human face_,' she realized sadly, as she looked the perfect beauty over.

The Queen's now very human-looking hands reached down to the sides of Jade's jaw, with her thumbs placed above her nose. The student was somewhat startled by the sensation of the soft feminine skin touching her own.

'_Wasn't this supposed to just be a trick of the light? She sure FEELS real…_' Jade wondered to herself, feeling oddly drawn in to the touch of soft skin.

Then The Queen began to softly massage the flesh beneath her. Working slight pressure and calculated circular motions into her Jaw and sinuses. Jade couldn't hold back the moan even if she tried as those soft hands worked her aches away to nothing.

'_Sensei... is really helping me like this?_' she asked in awe as she gave herself fully to the soft touch. '_Ms. I-Don't-Care-If-You-Feel-Every-Slice-While-I-Gut-You is really doing this for me?_'

But Jade couldn't question it in earnest, not now. All she could do was fight back tears of a different sort as she realized how much she MISSED being touched like this. She honestly couldn't bring herself to care what the Old Spider's motives were.

She'd been starving for this, aching for someone to touch her like they cared about her. Like her mom used to when she was hurt or sick, or Jackie or any of her family, really. She'd blocked such thoughts out as a means of surviving this harsh place, but the facts remained. Suddenly being given just a taste of what she once had taken for granted almost overwhelmed her.

'_I miss them_,' was her last thought before she drifted off to welcome sleep under the Queen's touch.

XXX

'Hmmm… those intersections… a sealing spell?' Jade pondered, hunched over her latest assignment.

The Queen's mystical teachings were going slowly since she'd begun. Nothing flashy or complex, despite what Jade wanted to try. Though given her track record with the Chi Spells she'd hazarded on her own, slow was perhaps best. Jumping into things without looking first had cost her more than she could bear sometimes. So these days she was less inclined to taking foolhardy risks.

'_That and the Old Spider doesn't want to teach me anything that can literally blow up in my face 'til I have a… thicker skin. Whenever THAT'LL be_,' she muttered adjusting her Butt Bra with irritation.

She reached over and pulled close a bowl full of strips of Bakeneko. She popped her fangs out and flexed the venom gland. A spray of dark red venom was milked into the bowl that she then swished to either side to make sure the meat was properly covered. Immediately upon contact, a carbonation-like fizzling filled the air. After a moment, the strips began to wilt and soon melt into a thick liquidated meat, fat and venom soup.

She tilted the bowl and drank it all down distastefully. Using her venom was faster than mashing the meat with a stone and mixing it with water. But it had the unfortunate side effect of giving everything she ate an acidic tingle that sort of reminded her of toothpaste. Bakeneko was one of the few meats whose flavor was actually improved this way; otherwise she'd have taken the extra time.

Jade turned back to the intricate layout of webs sitting before her rubbing her chin in thought. '_The old hag sure saddled me with a tough one this time…_'

At first the Queen's lessons had just been getting the theory of magic down, at least as it applied to the Jorōgumo variation on the subject. She'd learned quickly that there were as many vastly different schools of spellcraft as there were the Martial Arts. Each with their own strange quirks and specialties as well as limitations.

Spider magic, for example, had no use for potions or chants like the Chi Wizardry she'd known from Uncle and Daolon Wong. It was all in using patterns of webbing to channel magical effects like a silk circuit. Or setting your eight limbs into positions that best allow you to focus and control the flow of your own internal Dark Chi. Honestly, it was no wonder it was so specialized. Most others couldn't physically DO it even if they wanted to without a certain number of limbs and a working spinneret.

'_Which would explain why I still can't do much yet even after over three years of listening to the hag lecture me_,' she pouted slightly, tonguing her fangs in thought as had become her habit ever since they'd grown in.

'_Convenient that I started learning magic just as my teeth came in_,' she mused, probing the venom duct tipping her left fang with the tip of her tongue. '_Considering how often my tongue would get cut up back then. Thank God some healing spells are cheap on Chi and easy for beginners._'

Recently, the Spider Matron had begun giving Jade pre-woven spells, and telling her to figure out the effects of them without casting them first. Reading the Weave to see how the energies drawn in would flow and ripple through nature. It was easily her hardest assignments to date, and this one in particular was a pain in Jade's huge swollen egg-filled ass.

She glared at the spell-weave as though it had personally decided to be as difficult as possible, and crossed her arms, idly scratching an itch at her right shoulder.

'_It's not a sealing spell, that'll be too obvious for the wrinkly ol' sadist. She WANTS to add to my growing smack callous, and probably expects me to settle on the easiest answer. As if I'd fall for THAT… again. Maybe it's a… huh?_' She frowned, and looked down at her left hand, having felt something wet and soft slide into her palm.

Jade blinked at the soft blue mass sitting there curiously. The wet purple soaking it began to ring a loud warning bell in her thoughts, and she could feel that small itch from before growing more intense and spreading down her arm and shoulder.

In spite of fear, Jade forced herself to turn towards where she scratched earlier, bracing herself for the worst.

The worst is what she got.

A deep gouge of flesh was missing from her shoulder, the edges ragged and torn like a wet tissue. Blood wept from the tear in her arm, but not nearly so much as there should be from such a deep wound. Inside, where muscle tissue should have been in plain view, instead there was some sort of soft-looking fibrous membrane the pink color of washed-out blood.

Jade's breath was a hitched gasp, and she shuddered forward reaching out for the nearest web. '_Gotta call the Queen! Something's wrong, My SKIN is melting! Gotta get-_'

She stumbled, losing her balance and hitting the webbed carpet of the cave floor. Her abdomen jostled painfully in its harness, and a wave of dizziness and increasing itchiness struck her. The sensation was building and building, almost to the point of numbness. A constant screaming tingle invaded her thoughts and forcing her to look back at the epicenter of the sensation.

Thin weeping cracks, like old wood bark were branching from the wound, down her arm and shoulder, reaching out slowly across her torso. The cracks segmented and peeled like dry paint and ITCHED! The itching was so bad; it was like fire ants gnawing directly beneath her skin! The web was forgotten, calling the Queen was forgotten. All Jade could remember, all she was capable of understanding, was stopping the itching!

Her hands moved, possessed by this intent as she scooped away whole strips of her decaying flesh, revealing more and more of the soft membrane beneath. It was so thin it was almost transparent, letting her see her muscles flexing and twitching chaotically through the veil.

The sight horrified and sickened her, forcing up her recent meal onto the floor. But still, even despite her protests, even as she kicked and squealed and screamed and her nose was choked by the scent of fresh copper, the itching wouldn't stop!

The Young Oni screamed, her fangs popped reflexively and sliced her lips but she couldn't feel anything, save for the madness and itching as her surface was torn away in great wet handfuls.

Then on the periphery of her hysterical awareness, a pair of firm hands grabbed her and lifted her up. All Jade could see was red, and with a panicked wail, she lashed out with her shredded fists towards the new presence with all her considerable Oni strength.

The fist connected, and she barely felt the presence stumble beneath her. But even were she capable of satisfaction at the successful attack, she hardly had time to register it. A sudden powerful blow struck her in the temple a moment later.

The world gave way to merciful silence.

XXX

Slowly, with a gradualness that bordered on stillness, consciousness returned to Jade. And with it came a darkness that wouldn't clear whether her eyes opened or closed. She blinked, again and again trying to clear the shadows over her eyes but there was nothing. She reached up to check her vision, but found her arm anchored to her side. Her legs, her hands, everything was stuck solid.

Jade twisted and writhed, scared out of her wits as she began to understand the dimensions surrounding her. Trapped in a prison no wider than her skin. She thrashed, claustrophobic and hysterical, calling and screaming for someone to come free her.

The sensation of something pressing down over her forehead, and a soft voice shushing her slowly brought Jade back to reality. She could taste the familiar flavor of silk in her mouth from her screaming, and began to form a picture in her thoughts.

"S-ss-Sensei?" Jade managed to gasp through the silk barrier.

"Hush, child," came the rough aged voice of the Old Spider. Jade could feel her Sensei's segmented hand stroking her head through the web. "You reached another stage in your metamorphosis, and due to its… drastic nature became a danger to yourself, and more importantly, the Vessel. I was forced to restrain you."

"Let me out, Sensei," Jade whispered weakly, exhausted from fright. "Please?"

"I dare not, Young Spider," the Queen stated calmly as she continued to stroke her. "You attacked me in your panic, you know. Had your timing been better I would have approved. But I was also rather irritated with your poor planning."

"Trust me, it wasn't on purpose," Jade groaned, a strong feeling of hypersensitivity beginning to come to her attention with the veil of fear no longer there to abate it. As if her skin had been scraped clean with steel wool. "Was kinda busy dealing with super-leprosy, y'know..."

"No excuse," the Queen scoffed, "but it was convenient. I struck you silent and then used that as an opportunity to scrape away your excess flesh. Then I sealed you in this adhesive cocoon I fashioned from your hammock."

"Scraped away my WHAT?!" Jade tried to shout, but the sudden rush of air left her hacking and coughing.

"Save your strength, Young Weaver," she said calmly. "There is a long night ahead of you. You must trust me; you would not want to see yourself uncovered. It would throw you into another fit. Also, your constitution is now very delicate. It would be unsafe for you to be out and about."

"Let me out, please?" Jade tried again, the sensitivity she felt before beginning to give way towards a growing ache. She grit her teeth, the soft fabric around her starting to feel like barbed wire against her skin. "It's… it's starting to hurt a lot!"

"I know, my student, and it has only just begun."

Finally, the throbbing, like she was no longer wrapped in silk, but a tunnel of ragged metal teeth slowly scraping away at every surface of her too tender body broke down her resistance. Her exhausted thoughts offered no defense as the pain surged over her like a tsunami of thorns.

Jade screamed and screamed and screamed.

XXX

Pain gave way to darkness, a sweet spot between waking and dream that seemed to pulse and twist. Licking her on all sides. Darkness was alive, she'd realized. It was great and cold and wet, and she could feel the tongue of it all around her, licking her away until there was nothing left like a piece of candy.

In that nothing, there came sights and sounds strange and familiar, or alien and frightening. As if her memories were on display, being played back for her as some last ditch attempt to combat the madness that was her life.

She found herself in a web, but not like the cave she'd come to think of as home. This web was stretched within a structure of steel and glass. Tall and layered.

'_Wait… Home?_' she asked, confused, '_When did this become home? That's wrong, I never thought of it like that…_'

The web gave way beneath her, and she fell down the rabbit hole in silence, landing into herself like a ghost, facing a familiar scene of a lifetime ago.

'_I remember this movie_,' she stated hatefully, as she watched the proceedings from within one of the actors on stage. Best seats in the house.

The protagonist of the film was a young stupid girl lead who thought there was nothing to fear because she'd mistaken luck for skill. The girl sat before her only real friend, a man of truly staggering dimension and proclaimed him such. Her heart had just been broken by a cruel monster of the skies.

'_Look at what you gave up, you stupid little bitch!_' Jade screamed, trying to reach through the screen and change the script. But her voice was lost through the haze of twisted memory and fever.

'_You can never have that again and it's all YOUR fault!_'

But her screams of hateful accusation were lost in a silent tempest of thought. Her vision flickered, freeing her from the hateful sight, the film reel suddenly cut. The projector destroyed. She turned just in time to see a hand of solid jade, clenching a black blade tightly retreating into the shadows of the projection room.

Before the sight could be processed, her eyes filled with green fire. The torrent of emerald flame rushed towards her down the aisle. She screamed, holding up her hands as some meager defense. But there came no pain. Slowly she opened her clenched eyes, half expecting the sudden inferno to be waiting until her guard was down before rushing over her to reduce her to ash.

But when she looked, the flames were already upon her and caressing her gently. Burning her away and she realized she liked it. Her body was gone, all that was left was the fire, and the fire was her. Fire wasn't her enemy, it was her shield. The flames embraced her, protected her from all harm.

In that fire came a voice. Then another and another. More voices added until a chorus filled her ears. There were no words; it was like a humming and crying coming from inside the flame.

'_But the flame is me_,' she frowned, '_who are all those voices then if they aren't me?_'

Jade had no more time to ponder the thought before her thoughts seemed to sink. The flames but not the voices, extinguishing away as the fever dream receded. Now back in the world of painful sensation that was reality.

Beyond the waking dream Jade could feel her body slowly changing. The membrane she'd revealed by tearing away her dying skin was thickening, hardening with a gradual creaking groan. Like water flash-freezing into ice.

With the sensation of it hardening came the sharp raw irritation of her flesh cracking and splitting along every joint. From her neck down to each individual toe knuckle. The splitting always preceded a wetness she suspected was blood seeping into her arresting cocoon from all the deep cracks slicing her apart. Part of her suspected that were her cocoon to open now, she'd tumble out in perfectly severed pieces.

But worst of all was the paralyzing ache of her bones dissolving away slowly, seemingly at a rate equal to that of the membrane hardening. She felt a desperate burning in her core as muscles fell away, having lost the structure anchoring them down. Only to be twisted and shifted to new purpose as her skeletal structure was redefined outwards rather than inwards.

Jade could feel her heart and lungs slump within her as her ribcage gradually disintegrated like a seltzer tablet in water.

The process was so gradual and grinding and maddening that Jade was once more pushed back down silently into a twisted realm of memory and dreams, never truly awake or asleep. Ceaselessly drifting back and forth.

The noises from the flames followed her here, just as clear as they'd been before. Apparently they now dogged her every step.

Ms. Hartman was scolding her again, her hands filled with lightning as she told Jade to do her homework and stop talking in class, spreading her wings like some self-important jerk.

'_But I DID do my homework!_' Jade snapped, '_all I DO is homework! For three years! Drew was the one who didn't do it! HE'S the one who should be in trouble! HE'S the one who has to PAY!_'

Several spiders behind Jade nodded in agreement, taller than her and various colors. But they were devoted to her every word all the same. They were beautiful creatures, nothing like her Sensei.

'_Glad someone's on my side_,' she smirked, feeling strangely important. Oddly compelled, she reached out and pulled the closet spider into her arms. Its slinky catsuit was smooth against Jade's cheek.

'Catsuit?' she frowned, looking up at Viper's face. The gorgeous ex-thief smiled impishly down at her, then ruffled her hair much to Jade's pretend-annoyance.

She looked around, El Toro and Paco standing to Viper's right and left, and she could feel Jackie, Uncle and Tohru behind her.

'_This was during the first Pan'Ku box deal_,' she recognized with a frown. The weird noise continued endlessly, making it difficult for her to focus.

'_The first time we formed the J-Team…it was MY idea…_' she knit her brow, looking up at where her mother combed her hair. It was a small thing they shared, Jade and her mother hardly saw eye-to-eye. But she'd never outgrown enjoying this sensation.

'_This is one of the only things I missed when I went to the U.S._,' Jade admitted to her mother as she felt the teeth of the comb gently trail through her hair.

'_Where did Yu go?_' her mother asked her softly, reaching down and using the comb to slowly saw her daughter's stomach open, a screaming Vessel waiting impatiently to be placed within.

'_I thought I told you, I wanna be called Jade now_,' Jade insisted to her mother, as the massive eggsack was crammed within. '_Yu was just a stupid lonely girl who didn't have any friends and spent three years in a CAVE turning into a MONSTER! Wait… that's not…_'

'_You ran away from your problems_,' Tarakudo smirked leaning forward into her eyes, '_not realizing the path of escape is always circular._'

Her mother ignored her, focusing on the task at hand as usual.

Finally, Jade could block out the background din no longer. She covered her ears and shouted, '_WHAT is that NOISE?!_'

Again, dream faded back to the pain wracking her body as it incubated paralyzed in her silk prison. The noise was still here, following her like her dreams had never done before.

Jade could feel a hand stroking her head or abdomen. Sometimes the tender stroking was accompanied by the soft notes of some old folk song, the meaning of the words beyond Jade's capacity to understand. The sensation provided a small degree of respite from the ache within and without. But soon enough the pain overcame her and plunged Jade back into the shadows once again.

The cycle of waking and dreaming continuing on in a mad waltz.

On some level, deep inside, Jade became aware that she was back in the womb. Or more accurately, she'd never left. Her whole life was incubating in preparation for this moment. She realized she had yet to be born in the first place. That life a dream, the true life yet to begin.

XXX

'_Am I... awake?_' she frowned, her muted awareness barely understanding this strange state she'd emerged into. There was just the dark stillness, and the silent constant overlap of voices that weren't. But there was something missing, something basic and simple she'd long since internalized was just the way of the waking world.

'_Where's the pain?_' she thought, cautiously, expecting the ache of forever to assault her on all sides as it had been in mad intervals, '_since... since when? Since always, I think..._'

So she waited, expecting to be pulled back down into the depths of wild uncontrolled thought and imagery as she had been for as far back as she could remember. She didn't know how long she waited, but nothing came. Just a constant silence, no shift in her awareness.

Becoming anxious and impatient, a stray nonsensical thought occurred to her, one she banished at first as ridiculous. But the more she waited, the more the thought began to develop a sort of merit.

'_What if... what if I tried to move?_' she wondered, trying to remember how that even felt.

Slowly, she reached out and tried to send her will to some dark corner of her boundaries. She forced intent there, and after a moment of effort... she felt it. An audible stiff creaking, a numb ache struck her from its direction as she forced herself to shift.

But not pain, not anything like what the waking world made her run a gauntlet of between each twisted vision.

Feeling a strange rising excitement, she continued flexing the area from earlier, and found others. Slowly the strange new sensation of physical activity began to help her develop a map of her own structure.

'_I don't feel like I'm much different than in my dreams... I think..._' she wondered. She was never able to quite grasp the content of those dreams at the best of times.

Without the prevailing agony muddying her thoughts, she could also begin to feel the dimensions of her confinement; the cocoon. It was warm and wet, her home. Her life. But strangely, now it was beginning to feel unusually cramped, far too small. Had she outgrown her whole world? Was such a thing even possible?

She lay, apparently curled in on herself considering this strange situation for some time, trying to come to a conclusion for a problem she didn't understand. Almost unconsciously, she continued to shift, little by little. The actions felt more and more right as she thought, almost as if the movement was an answer unto itself.

Finally, a truly scandalous thought occurred, one that rocked her into silence to even acknowledge, '_What if I tried… tried to leave?_'

'_CAN I leave?_' she wondered, feeling out the soft and warm layer of moist silk around her. '_What's out there? Is ANYTHING? I think I've always been here, but..._'

Some fearful part of her considered this may have been another dream, nothing worth giving another thought to. Soon the true waking and pain would come and the cycle would be along its rightful course.

Or perhaps this was her skin, the cocoon was her body, and breaking free would do nothing more than end her as the guts of her spilled out into the mysterious beyond. Any number of twisted and disheartening scenarios came to mind as she contemplated her next act.

'_Regardless of what happens though..._' a voice said in the shadows, one daring and brave bordering on foolhardy, '_I wanna try. I wanna see what happens when we leave._'

The clarity of that thought somehow gave her courage to act, to accept the mad possibility of emergence as more than the end of her world. But with it came another connected but equally pressing question; how?

She turned her thoughts to the borders around her, feeling out the texture and construction of it all. As she did so, a strange sort of... pattern seemed to emerge. Like old lessons long forgotten, knowledge began rising out of the mire, an understanding of the silk cell containing her.

'_I get it..._' she realized with excitement, '_I don't know how, and I don't think I really GOT it before, but I get it now..._'

She remembered lessons that she'd come to understand from some forgotten time in the dark of her thoughts, lessons she understood but only academically. Now, though, they felt internalized, an understanding within her that bordered on instinctual.

Emboldened, she reached out and interacted with the pattern that encapsulated her, unweaving and breaking it down with a few absurdly simple if clumsy gestures. With that, her world literally began to unravel.

A panic shot through her, but she forced it back as she felt a split in cocoon just in front of her. Gaping and waiting for her. She considered taking more of it apart; letting the whole cocoon fall apart around her but that... it felt disrespectful. This wasn't a place she wanted to simply destroy; her world wasn't some bag to tear through when used up.

Slowly and very carefully, she reached through the seam, unraveling the next layer beyond it, vaguely aware that this kind of careful work was unlike her, somehow. She stiffly and weakly pressed forward through the portal. The wet fibers gave way to a layer of moist ones, and then those led to a layer that was strangely dry and membranous.

'_I can just stop,_' she considered idly, facing what she was sure was the final layer between her and the outside. '_Just pull back and sow everything up and stay here._'

But even as she thought that, she knew she wouldn't. As she'd worked she realized this felt right, it's what she needed to do for herself. With that thought turned to steel in her heart, she made the final push and the world was torn asunder.

A pair of strong alien arms caught her as she was slowly pulled down. At the touch, and the strange caress of dry air on her surface, she nearly panicked. But she was stronger than that, and pushed the thought aside as she was led out of the silk and laid on a soft cushioned surface beneath.

Her eyes, she realized, we stuck shut and currently blind to the world around her. But that hardly did anything to diminish the wonder at being outside. Unconfined and unbound. The air made her feel so amazingly aware of her form, and under her own power, she sat up. She felt her joints creak and shift, celebrating every sore motion. The arms from before supported her, keeping her from falling back.

Then, like that, a very strange and simple thought came to her, and with it a rush of understanding so powerful it nearly overwhelmed her. But it also brought a swelling rush of certainty she grasped onto and refused to let go.

Slowly, with a sweet ache, her eyes pried open, and she turned to the source of the arms holding her. Black eyes being the first thing she saw through the blurred frosty vision of colors and shapes assaulting her.

"I... I'm Jade! My name is Jade Chan!" she declared; her voice a croak barely above a whisper, but voicing the thought excited and refreshed her all the same. With that declaration, she felt the days of her life come rushing in, like a summer wind, warm and powerful even as it brings the storm on the horizon toward you.

She greeted it, uncertain what victory she had won but knowing she had triumphed.

XXX

'_Six months…_,' Jade thought in muted awe, leaning forward and hugging her legs into her chest, feeling strangely agoraphobic as she looked out around her. '_Somehow I don't feel that surprised. But still, I was wrapped up in that cocoon for SIX MONTHS…_'

Jade reclined, lying against the Queen's abdomen as she watched the gray scenery steadily change around her. She could feel her own abdomen thrust out stiffly behind her, keeping her for leaning back any further.

It had been over three… actually, four years since she'd been allowed outside the caves. Being out here in the open sky was humbling after that, like it was going to reach down and suck her into its depths at any moment.

'_At least it's just gray_,' she smirked. '_Be even worse if there were stars and a moon up there._'

She settled in, happy that her new state kept the Queen's course fur from feeling like an irritant. Now it was just a soft bedding to lie back on and enjoy the slight undulations beneath her as the Queen walked.

This had actually been the Queen's idea, after Jade emerged from her stasis and devoured a truly obscene amount of meat the Queen has set out ready, having anticipated her appetite. She'd apparently known roughly when Jade's metamorphosis within would be complete and made preparations accordingly.

'_That was actually sort of embarrassing the way I pigged out_,' she admitted to herself, sheepishly. '_Didn't even notice the flavor when I used my venom on everything. By the time I was done, my glands were actually SORE…_'

Afterwards and Jade had settled, she announced that the two of them were to travel to the lake Jade could see from the cave entrance.

Just the thought of finally leaving the mountain like this was grand enough. As much as she had gotten used to the gloom of the cliffs and caves, she resented how her confinement could make her forget how much more the outside had to offer. Even this husk of a world at least possessed a shred of wonder.

Jade was equal parts nervous and excited, given that she'd longed to see more than the endless labyrinthine passages of the Queen's domain. But the last time she'd been out here, she'd been mauled by a fox, and set to slow cook by an ogre.

'_But I was just a kid back then_,' she scoffed, dismissing the fear outright, '_Now I'm sixteen… er… seventeen? Whatever, I'm not just some dumb kid anymore. I'm not so easily pushed around now…_'

She sighed, looking up into the endless fog, '_Not after everything I've gone through. That'd make an adult out of anyone…_'

Sensei had actually insisted Jade ride on her back on the ride down to the lake, even though Jade had been looking forward to really stretching her legs after so long.

"Your stamina is not nearly so great as you suspect," the Queen had explained, "It will be at least a week before you recover fully from your ordeal. If you tried to walk alongside me, you'd collapse before we reached half-way."

Jade had found that to be an exaggeration, but accepted it without conflict. But since she had so much time on her hands, just resting on her sensei's abdomen, she decided to voice a question that had been plaguing her since her emergence.

"Sensei?" Jade hazarded, speaking up and reaching the old Spider. "I've been… sort of… hearing things, ever since I was in the cocoon. Like… little whispers, but in my head or…"

The Queen seemed to slump slightly, a reaction that surprised the young Chan somewhat, before turning back to look over her shoulder. "I envy you, Little Weaver. I was not prepared for this silence choking me when I transferred the Vessel."

"…Sensei?" Jade frowned knitting her brow.

"Those voices," the Queen stated with a sigh, "are the Song of Life. Your communion with the souls of every last egg waiting within you. Your connection with them is truly beginning to establish, linking your spirit with theirs."

She looked away, towards the path ahead of her, "I am truly alone, now. It is not how I wished to spend my remaining years, but a necessary sacrifice."

Jade frowned, and looked pensively down at her feet, unsure of what to say to her teacher when she opened herself up like that. Worst of all was just how irritating she found the white noise at the edge of her consciousness, and now feeling disrespectful over it.

'_I don't WANT to hear them all the time OR be connected to 'em! It's not like they even have anything to say, anyways…_' she frowned, looking back. '_But I can't very well say that when the Old Spider's gotten like this…_'

"But Sensei…" she tried to say her next statement as diplomatically and inoffensively as possible. Something she quickly found she had no talent for. "They… the voices… um… make it hard to concentrate…"

"You will get used to it," was all the Spider Matron said, not looking back. Jade wondered what her expression could have been.

"We have arrived," she added, her eight legs steadily grinding to a halt. "Climb off of me now, and have a look at your new self, Jade Chan."

Blinking in surprise, Jade looked up and around seeing they were in fact before the dark body of water Jade had seen hundredss of times from above.

Seeing a lake, or any large body of water after so long, was exciting in and of itself. Even if the surface was too unsettlingly still, and green with stagnation. Up close its size was rather staggering, the perpetual mist making it impossible to see all the way beyond to the far shore.

Nervously, Jade nodded and gave a weak affirmation before carefully sliding off the Queen's abdomen onto the moist sand. She stepped forward, enjoying the sensation of sand beneath her bare feet for the first time in literally years, nervously approaching the still water of the lake.

Swallowing, and taking a deep breath as if about to take a plunge, Jade looked down at the full extent of her new form. She quickly released the breath in shock and awe.

Every inch of her from the neck down was covered in intricate segmented plating. Each piece of armor was Shadowkhan blue with a dull but well-colored surface that drank the light rather than reflecting it. Seeing it all at once was rather overwhelming compared to what she could tell from just looking down.

'_I almost don't believe that's me_,' she admitted idly, as she turned and looked at her back. Observing the way the plating shifted and intersected as she moved. It looked like it should be clumsy, but the motion was seamless. The flesh between each plate was like tough svelte leather, sturdy and flexible.

Her face was largely unchanged, to her surprise, but older and more mature looking every bit a seventeen-year-old. Annoyingly she'd kept the pouty lips she'd always been self-conscious of, in fact, they seemed even bigger now. But she pushed the unwelcome thought aside for the moment. Curiously she reached up and lightly touched her face. The skin felt firmer, less yielding than she'd been used to.

She frowned in distaste, looking at how her hair seemed to clump up into thick dreadlocks now. Not that she was really surprised; the most she could do in the cave was sponge bathe with a bucket of cave water and an old rag. Not to mention she'd been in a moist cocoon stewing in her own juices for half a year.

Jade would have loved to dive into the water and try to wash her mop into something that at least pretended to be presentable. But the Queen had made it clear that she was not to enter the water whatsoever because; "the Kappa are a nuisance." Whatever THAT meant.

The Half-Spider turned back and angled herself so that her abdomen was in plain view, perhaps appreciating that change most of all. Gone was the mass of obscene tumorous flesh, replaced by a firm rounded abdomen, like the Queen's in miniature, minus the fur.

It seemed to balance itself perfectly with her body, and she could even reorient it by flexing certain muscles where it attached to her along where her tailbone had been. However, moving it still felt far too strange and alien. Like her venom glands had once felt. That would take some getting used to, but it was far better than the alternative, and now it actually seemed to fit her look.

She was an exotic beauty Star Trek could only dream of. Her blue exoskeleton covered a fine curvy teenage figure, save her for her chicken legs which puberty sadly seemed to have passed by. It seemed rather unfair that the rest of her would be so adult but her legs were so scrawny. But for now, Jade chose to focus on the positive.

The Young Oni-Spider loved the sight of her twisting and bending her body in the reflection. The segments would have struck her as ugly in theory, but the smooth sliding and gliding of her planes as she moved were a wonder of biology. Every joint of her hands fitting and flexing perfectly despite the hardened carapace.

'_Can't really paint my nails anymore, though_,' Jade noticed, seeing as how she lacked those now. Instead her gauntlet-like digits all seemed to lengthen into sharpened points that would scrape along her palms when she made a fist.

Overall her whole center of gravity had changed, it seemed. She felt sturdier, her weight distribution more spread out. Greater flexibility too, Jade realized. Going down on her stomach she watched her reflection as she assumed a yoga position, that she had only ever seen done, with ease. Apparently bones got in the way like her exo and muscles did not.

'_Okay, this is pretty awesome_,' she grinned to herself in the still water, as her legs were folded behind her head. She carefully untangled herself and hopped back up, feeling rather giddy. She didn't dare dream her exoskeleton would feel so good.

Jade slid her hands over her surface enjoying the noise and sensation of the flesh that was hard like steel but light like ceramics. But doing so brought her attention towards rather unusual additions to her new biology she'd discovered back in the cave.

There was sliding plates built into her body similar in function to her eyelids, were she forced to make a comparison. Their purpose seemed to be protecting areas that could not always be shielded. Doing so conveniently came with the added bonus that shielding such areas also preserved her modesty. Her womanhood was covered by one such movable plane that could shift aside when she needed to relieve herself.

Surprisingly, her chest had two such planes; one for each breast. And what breasts! With all the extreme changes that had passed her by somehow, frankly she had expected to miss out there, spider and all. The Queen had nothing even remotely resembling breasts in her spider-woman form. When she'd first looked down, she'd been SURE a smooth plane of flat plating would greet her.

But no, she'd been met with clear indentations in the plating for quite a healthy pair of very mammalian knockers. Looking around first nervously to make sure nobody was staring her way, she slid the plating out of the way to get a good look. It was flesh not unlike her face. Blue, perhaps a bit firmer than it was before, but still two fine boobs.

'_Best. Surprise. Ever!_' she grinned broadly, displaying every single fang to her name. '_Wow, THOSE are gonna take some getting used to…_'

'_My older self wasn't nearly this busty_,' she thought back curiously as she tested their weight in her segmented hands. '_But Queeny did say Jorōgumo were seductresses so… uh…?_'

Her thoughts on the future-that-was were interrupted by a thwack.

"Stop fondling your udders. Royalty does not do that, particularly not in public," the Queen commanded as Jade rubbed her head.

"Yes, Sensei," Jade rolled her eye as she slid her plates back into place, blushing furiously.

"Oh, did you have to stop her? I was enjoying the show," the last possible voice in this situation Jade wanted to hear spoke up.

Gasping in horror, Jade turned towards the Oni Mask and reflexively punched through it despite the futility of the gesture, her face the color of her plating. "You creeping old PEDO!"

Tarakudo laughed smugly and added, "Back in my day, you were married off with your first blood and nobody batted an eye. By those standards you're practically a pretty spinster now, no pun intended."

Jade growled through her teeth and furiously turned away, her hands clenched at her sides so she didn't make a fool of herself batting uselessly at a shadow. '_As if I could make a bigger fool of myself by giving the evil old lecher a peepshow while I groped myself!_'

"Hell, even by YOUR standards you're legal now, Honey. Welcome to adulthood, Your Majesty," Tarakudo added with a laugh. But was cut off when the Queen stepped between them, staring at the Oni King harshly and blocking her charge from sight.

However, even she added without turning towards Jade, "This is WHY you should not do such things in public. Oni are even worse than mortal men."

Jade lightly chewed her lip and counted slowly to ten before turning back to her companions and pointing away from shore, "Both of you need to leave me alone! This is Jade reflection time! And I'm gonna use it!"

The Queen gave her a look that basically said, "Have it your way, but once you're done expect another smack" and waved for Tarakudo to follow her. The Oni King gave Jade a leering smirk, then nodded following after the Queen.

Jade thought nothing of it as she turned back to the lake. They had had many weird secret meetings in the past; it was just what dumb grownups DID.

'_Dumb grownups… yeah right_,' she scoffed placing her hands on her hips as she regarded the new her. '_I practically AM a grownup now, so what do I know?_'

The thought brought her mood down, and her segmented shoulders began to slump. '_Hell of a way to throw away a childhood, though._'

'_Y'know, Chan Yu didn't have it that bad at all_,' Jade pondered, her thoughts tinted with bitterness as she crossed her arms. '_The worst she had to deal with was boredom and loneliness. She… I… just sucked at making friends for some reason my whole life. Could never figure out why. And yeah, my parents were always busy, hardly ever had time for me._'

Her eyes narrowed and she sat down, grabbing up a stone and easily skipping it across the surface with a powerful flick of her wrist. '_But she… argh! I was comfortable, and I knew my parents loved me a lot. Wasn't stupid enough to doubt something so obvious._'

Jade placed her forehead against her knees, remembering the feeling of her mom brushing her hair. It was one of the few times they could really bond, and Jade loved the feeling. Though she suspected the ritual was originally rooted in her mom trying to work out her unruly spikes. But she didn't care; it was a little thing that made them both happy.

'_When I changed my name to Jade, things were even better. Life was like any red-blooded kid's dream come true_,' she admitted, reaching out and dipping her fingers into the water. The sensation was strange on her carapace.

'_But was I really different from Yu?_' she asked finally, a question that had been plaguing her since she emerged from the cocoon. '_I still had no friends before Tohru, even as Jade. But I was always so busy with Jackie and the others, I never noticed. Once the adventure ground to a halt, I had to face that maybe it was always just Jackie?_'

'_If he'd been a boring normal adult, Jade would have been no different from Yu. WASN'T different. I was kidding myself with the name change back then_,' she scoffed, pulling her hand back and running wet armored fingers through her hair in frustration.

'_I ran away from who I didn't want to be without really stopping to fix who I was first, and now look at me_,' she admitted eyes closed, '_More lonely than Yu ever was on her worst day. All because I just kept jumping ahead without thinking._'

'_What right do I have to be upset about where my own choices led me?_' Jade asked herself, finding her anger and self-pity up until this point embarrassing to say the least, '_This isn't how I wanted things to end up. But really, it's the natural evolution of my whole entire stupid risk-taking attitude._'

'_Spoiler Alert, Jade, consequences CAN and DO catch up with you_,' she imagined telling herself four years ago with a bitter grin. '_Just imagine the look on her face if I went back in time and showed her what's coming. I'd wet myself._'

'_God, how many second chances did I waste, too?_' she realized with some disbelief. '_I was a monkey, an Oni the first time, a cat-girl, a frog-monster, a… urgh… mule girl, and each time I just bounced back like it was no big deal! You know plenty about mythology by now from Jackie, Jade. Just how many OTHER people got so many do-overs? How 'bout we go ask Medusa or Arachne?_'

She winced slightly, '_Shouldn't have said Arachne, bit close to home there._'

'_But whatever_,' she declared, standing back up and dusting sand off the underside of her abdomen. '_No more taking anything for granted and bitching about it. No more whining about MY choices, and no more passing the buck onto my past. THIS is what will separate Jade from Yu._'

She punched her right hand into her left palm, punctuating her declaration, and then got distracted by how awesome that felt, not to mention the noise and how little it hurt. '_I can't BELIEVE I was so grossed out about getting this badass exo!_'

'_I wonder if Big Me wanted to smack me one during the two times we met for the stupid crap I'll-_' she stopped her musing and stepped back covering her mouth in dawning horror. A chill ran down her… whatever she had that served as a spine now.

'_Oh my god, I killed Big Me, didn't I_,' Jade realized, shocked and appalled at the implication her current self had on the future she'd seen. There was no possible way she could grow up to be the awesome heroic sexy boss of Section 13 now, right? So that could only mean…

'_I time-killed Future Jade!_' she thought in a panic, flopping back down onto her abdomen and staring off blankly into the horizon. '_Does being retconned out of existence HURT?! I hope it doesn't!_'

She covered her eyes and flopped back on the sand rolling back and forth in anger, sadness and frustration, '_Just when I act SO cool and self-affirming, what's the FIRST thing I self-affirm?! My choices killed who I grow up to be! Who else has problems like me?! I'd LOVE to meet them; we could form a damn support group!_'

Jade lay their trying to come to grips with her sui-homi-future-cide, before finally standing up and storming up to where the Spider Matron waited patiently. Tarakudo had apparently vanished once whatever they'd discussed had concluded.

"Are you alright, Little Spider?" The Queen asked, with an amused tone that Jade had no patience for in her upset state. "You seemed to be having something of a fit."

Jade ignored her, stepping around to the Spider Witch's abdomen and retrieving an object she'd brought along for the trip, specifically for this most sacred of purposes.

She stepped away from her Sensei, her eyebrows knit in rage as she started running towards the shore, balling the object tightly between her armored digits. Finally, she reached the edge of the lake and let fly with a throw that would leave a major league pitcher stunned. Then skidded to a halt kicking up a blast of sand.

"ZÀI JIÀN, BUTT BRA!" she roared with all the air in her lungs, giving the rapidly vanishing unholy garment both fingers.

Jade couldn't even see if it landed in the old waters of the lake since it swiftly disappeared into the mist. But all the same, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders and even despite what happened to J2, was embraced by a warm sense of satisfaction.

"THAT is the true rebirth of Jade Chan," she stated for all to hear. "The whole cocoon-thing was just window dressings."

She breathed a sigh of relief, and walked back up to the Queen, not even bothering to assess whatever look the Old Spider was fixing her with. She just stretched out her joints, and slowly climbed back onto the massive abdomen. The Queen hadn't been exaggerating, she was suddenly exhausted.

"Had stuff to work out," Jade muttered tiredly through a yawn to the Queen's unanswered question. "Weird cocoon-dream stuff."

"Well obviously," the Queen nodded, turning to go back home. Both of their home, as much as Jade hated to admit it. After four years, what else could it be?

"You spent six months in a waking dream, many various mystics and prophets throughout time have tried to achieve such a state artificially or through meditation with varying degrees of success. In such an open vulnerable mentality, the veil of reality can become frayed; you'll see things from your past, things you've hidden from yourself, perhaps things you have yet to experience…"

Jade leaned forward, one hairless brow angled up, "Are you saying I could have seen the FUTURE?"

"Only you would know that," the Queen shrugged noncommittally without looking back. "Did you?"

"I…" Jade knit her brow and ground the heel of her right palm into her forehead, trying to summon up the some ephemeral image of her time in the cocoon's world. But they were just a smear of color and noise, all she could recall were the ideas and concepts planted after the fact. "I… dunno, dammit! It's all just one big mess!"

"I am not surprised," the Queen smirked, looking back at her coyly. "If anything you saw was of importance, perhaps you will remember when the time is right. Or not, it hardly matters now."

"Easy for you to say, Sensei," Jade pouted with her new lips for the first time of many to come. "You didn't possibly miss out on a whole bunch of future spoilers…"

"I most certainly did not," she agreed, before turning and giving Jade the smack she'd been promised from before. It wasn't as satisfying with her student's new body though, which made the Queen somewhat annoyed.

"Now I hope you enjoyed the sight of your shiny new carapace, Young Spider," the Queen explained smugly, placing her arms in her sleeves. "You will not be able to see it again once your fur grows in."

"My WHAT?"

**C05 - END**

**Author's Notes: Same grammar note as you've become used to for the last four chapters.**

**Jade's over her biggest hurdle yet. For now. She still has a long and perilous road ahead of her.**

**Please enjoy!**


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